Super Committee

AFL Warns Super Committee Dems: Not One Vote For GOP Plans

Brian Beutler | November 18, 2011, 9:20AM

'Super Committee' members Sen. Patt Murray (D-WA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), September 7, 2011.

So far Democrats and Republicans on the Super Committee have acted as voting blocs. And smart money is on the idea that any plan that can pass the committee will get substantial buy-in from both parties.

But for progressive groups there's a Doomsday Scenario where one deal-hungry Democrat defies his colleagues and votes with the entire GOP to pass a plan. The AFL-CIO is petitioning Dems to prevent that from happening.

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Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor Cancels Income Inequality Speech After Protests Planned

Benjy Sarlin | October 21, 2011, 1:41PM

Updated at 3:44 PM ET

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is abruptly pulling out of a scheduled Friday lecture on income equality at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, according to the school.

Progressive and labor groups, including Occupy Philadelphia, MoveOn.org, the local AFL-CIO, and AFSCME, were planning a protest for the event. According to Cantor's office, the Congressman pulled out after discovering that the speech would be open to the public and seeing reports that the university was allowing protestors to gather on the campus itself.

"The Office of the Majority Leader was informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met," Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in an e-mailed statement. "Wharton is a educational leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, and the Majority Leader appreciated the invitation to speak with the students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the UPENN community."

In a statement, the school denied that they had changed their rules as to who could attend the event in advance of the speech.

"The Wharton speaker series is typically open to the general public, and that is how the event with Majority Leader Cantor was billed," the university said. "We very much regret if there was any misunderstanding with the Majority Leader's office on the staging of his presentation."

Mike Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress, which is organizing the protests, told TPM that the demonstration will continue regardless of whether or not Cantor proceeds with the speech.

"If he has in fact cancelled it says he's willing to meet with the elites but not willing to meet with the 99%," he said. "As soon as he hears there's going to be everyday folks outside...he decides to cancel."

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Mark Nicastre, condemned Cantor's decision to cancel the speech as well.

"Majority Leader Eric Cantor canceled his speech on income inequality after his office learned the speech was open to the public," he said in a statement. "It shows that Eric Cantor is afraid to face the public with his policies because he knows that Republicans are wrong on the middle class. Republican policies, driven by the Tea Party, have favored corporate special interests over the middle class - from the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it to Republican opposition to investments in middle class families."

AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Launches Last-Minute Blitz Against Graham's Anti-NLRB Bill

Susan Crabtree | September 21, 2011, 3:22PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

The AFL-CIO launched a furious lobbying spree Wednesday just hours before a key Senate Committee is set to vote on an anti-union proposal that would prevent the National Labor Relations Board from filing suits against companies who move operations to right-to-work states.

The biggest union in the nation is trying to prevent Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) from adding the anti-NLRB language to a spending bill funding the agency as well as the Labor and Health and Human Services Departments.

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Richard Trumka

After Rocky Period, AFL-CIO Backs Obama's Jobs Plan

Susan Crabtree | September 9, 2011, 10:59AM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka hasn't been shy in recent weeks about speaking out against President Obama's willingness to compromise with Republicans on everything from the super committee to the so-called Gang of Six's approach to deficit reduction, but last night he seemed elated over Obama's jobs plan and his pledge to "go to the mat" for workers.

"The President took an important and necessary step tonight: he started a serious national conversation about how to solve our jobs crisis," Trumka said in a lengthy statement. "He showed working people that he is willing to go to the mat to create new jobs on a substantial scale. Tonight's speech should energize the nation to come together, work hard and get serious about jobs."

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AFL-CIO

Trumka To Dems: Walk Away From Bad Super Committee Deal

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2011, 11:30AM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Democrats should be prepared to walk away from a bad deficit deal even if the consequence is a far-reaching penalty that would likely cost a huge number of jobs.

"They shouldn't agree to anything that's a bad deal," Trumka told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast roundtable. He warned Democrats against voting for any Super Committee plan that cuts Social Security and lets wealthy Americans off the hook by not raising their taxes. But voting no comes with consequences. If the committee gridlocks or passes a plan that fails in Congress, it will trigger $1.2 trillion in spending cuts split evenly between defense and domestic programs.

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Barack Obama

AFL-CIO Pres: Obama Aligned Himself With Tea Party To Cut Middle Class Programs

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2011, 10:59AM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

The most powerful union official in the country offered reporters his harshest critique of President Obama to date Thursday, questioning Obama's policy and strategic decisions, and claiming he aligned himself with the Tea Party in the debt limit fight.

"This is a moment that working people and quite frankly history will judge President Obama on his presidency; will he commit all his energy and focus on bold solutions on the job crisis or will he continue to work with the Tea Party to offer cuts to middle class programs like Social Security all the while pretending the deficit is where our economic problems really lie," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters at a breakfast roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

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2012 elections

Labor Gets In The Big Money Game -- AFL-CIO To Launch Super PAC

Eric Kleefeld | August 22, 2011, 5:10PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

The AFL-CIO is gearing up to revamp organized labor's political operation, the Associated Press reports, by establishing a new "super PAC" that could raise unlimited amounts of money, just as business groups have also done.

Forming a so-called "super labor PAC" would allow the labor federation to raise money from sympathetic donors both inside and outside union membership and mobilize support beyond its traditional base, instead of ramping up political activities each election cycle.

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AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Slams 'Gang of Six' Proposal For 'Goring' The Poor

Susan Crabtree | July 20, 2011, 3:09PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka doesn't share President Obama's enthusiasm for the so-called balanced approach to deficit reduction set forth in the much ballyhooed bipartisan 'Gang of Six' proposal. In fact, he's dead-set against it.

Despite all the talk of tough choices and shared sacrifice and taking on sacred cows during difficult economic times, Trumka says the Gang of Six proposal appears to balance the budget on the backs of middle-class workers and the poor.

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Elizabeth Warren

AFL-CIO Pushes Obama On Recess Appointment For Elizabeth Warren

Brian Beutler | June 9, 2011, 10:10AM

Elizabeth Warren

The most influential labor organization in the country is pushing President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the next congressional recess.

"By refusing to make any appointment to lead the CFPB, Senate Republicans effectively have recused themselves from having any input into whom President Obama appoints," reads an email alert to activists delivered Wednesday evening. "It's a dereliction of their constitutional duty to "advise and consent" on the president's nominees."

Fortunately, President Obama can bypass these obstructionists by making a recess appointment.

No matter who gets the recess appointment of President Obama, Republicans have made it clear they'll scream and holler. This reflects a sorry state in our politics--but it's also a historic opportunity to recess appoint Elizabeth Warren, who's already shown as acting director of the CFPB that she's a true champion for working families.... Urge President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren the next time Congress goes on recess.

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AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Prez Warns Dems: Don't Take Labor's Love For Granted

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 20, 2011, 4:23PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

Watch out, Democrats, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on Friday. Your buddies in organized labor are looking to expand the friendship circle.

Trumka's speech at the National Press Club, billed as a major address by the union, recast the union's connection to politics as a year-round, national affair -- rather than the election-focused, battleground state strategy of the past. Trumka warned Democrats that labor would not always be at their side, suggesting more of the primary battles like the unsuccessful one that labor backed against former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) last year.

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AFL-CIO

Republicans Just Voted To End Medicare -- So Where's The Outrage?

Brian Beutler | April 22, 2011, 12:39PM

Members of Congress are back in their districts, attending town hall events, explaining to their constituents why, exactly, they want to make such major changes to the health care system.

If that sounds familiar, you might be wondering if we're in for August 2009 redux. That was when conservatives and tea party activists caused mayhem at Democratic town hall events and sowed doubt in the minds of members and the media about whether the push for health care reform was really viable. Now, Republicans have their sites set on Medicare and Medicaid, and just voted, almost to a person, to basically zap both programs.

So are we in for a repeat?

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Indiana

Labor Leader Declares Unlikely Victory In Indiana

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 4, 2011, 6:11PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, has declared the five week shutdown of the Indiana legislature -- led by Democrats upset with Republican-led right-to-work laws and Gov. Mitch Daniels' (R) agenda -- to be an unqualified success.

Trumka told TPM at a roundtable with reporters that despite the hardships he said were faced by union workers, labor supporters and Democrats in general in Indiana, progressive-leaning politicians in the Hoosier state were able to pull off the upset win.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin AFL-CIO Hits Walker On Negotiations -- And Phone Calls

Eric Kleefeld | March 7, 2011, 6:32PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is firing back at Gov. Scott Walker's (R) Monday press conference, in which he attacked state Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D) and his caucus for not returning to the state -- and accused Dems of secretly taking their marching orders from the unions instead of having real negotiations. In response, the union says Walker is the one who isn't negotiating in good faith -- and is also the one who was caught on a phone call with someone he believed to be an out-of-state backer.

"Given that Walker's refusal to negotiate in good faith was embarrassingly revealed in a phone call with someone he believed was his billionaire political benefactor David Koch, it is beyond comprehension that he would suggest Democrats are taking direction from out-of-state phone calls," says a statement from the state AFL-CIO. "Indeed, it was an out-of-state phone call from 'Koch' that directed Walker to take his 'baseball bat' to Wisconsin's working families and launch an all-out assault on the middle class."

TPM also asked Miller spokesman Michael Browne for comment on Walker's allegations of secret calls with union leaders, and got a short response:

Sorry, no secret calls.

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Wisconsin Protests

Wis. AFL-CIO Ad Features Walker-'Koch' Phone Call (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 5:06PM

Ad by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "Scott Walker and David Koch's attacks on Wisconsin's middle class"

The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is up with a new ad attacking Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights -- making quick use of Walker's phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch.

Around the Capitol, the phone call is something people are talking about -- a lot. From the protestors yelling about Walker's "Koch habit," to reporters who kept asking him about the call during Wednesday's brief press conference. Indeed, it seems likely Walker will find it difficult to put the call behind him anytime soon -- from his discussion of political gamesmanship, brief considerations about planting fake protesters to start trouble, or his passion for busting the public employee unions in the mold of Ronald Reagan's firing of the air traffic controllers, this thing, as they say, has legs.

Enter the AFL-CIO's ad:

"Gov. Walker is set on eliminating collective bargaining for nurses, teachers, people who live and work in our communities," the announcer says. "He tells us it's for the taxpayers of Wisconsin. But to wealthy GOP funders like David Koch, it's a different story."

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Wisconsin Protests

AFL-CIO Launches First TV Ad In WI Labor Fight (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 10:21AM

On the back of a new union poll suggesting the Wisconsin public is ready to stand with the protesters gathered in and around the Capitol in Madison, a coalition of unions is going on air in the Badger State with an ad calling on the public to do just that.

As Greg Sargent first reported, the AFL-CIO, National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers and others are paying for the spot, which features a Racine, WI firefighter urging Gov. Scott Walker (R) not to ban collective bargaining for teachers, nurses and other unionized state employees.

"They're simply asking that you not take away their rights," the firefighter says.

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AFL-CIO

AFL Goes On The Attack In Wisconsin Over Rollback Of Worker Rights (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | February 14, 2011, 9:40AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Workers and their allies in Wisconsin are gearing up for a drawn out fight with the state's new Republican governor Scott Walker.

On Friday, Walker announced a plan to roll back state government employee rights by decades, and has called on the Wisconsin legislature to enact it quickly.

Unions and progressives went into rapid response mode. Some even suggested quietly that Walker might face a recall over this proposal.

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Labor

New Wisconsin GOP Governor Pushes For Massive Rollback Of Worker Rights

Brian Beutler | February 11, 2011, 4:57PM

Scott Walker

Wisconsin's new Republican governor has set a new benchmark in fraying state-union relations in the wake of massive GOP victories in the November elections.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Scott Walker proposed stripping nearly all government workers of their collective bargaining rights. And as a warning shot across the bow, he told Wisconsin reporters Friday that he's alerted the National Guard ahead of any unrest, or in the event that state services are interrupted. Under his plan, which he'll include in his forthcoming budget proposal, most state workers would no longer be able to negotiate for better pensions or health benefits or anything other than higher salaries, which couldn't rise at a quicker pace than the Consumer Price Index.

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Bush Tax Cuts

AFL-CIO: Compromise On Bush Tax Cuts For The Wealthy Is 'Insane'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 12, 2010, 3:41PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is standing with Speaker Nancy Peolosi and other progressives urging Democrats not to compromise and extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest earners in the upcoming lame duck session.

"It is absolutely insane that in these tough economic times some people want to continue George W. Bush's tax giveaways to millionaires," Trumka said in a statement. "Speaker Pelosi is exactly right that there should not be a so-called compromise on this issue."

Trumka's declaration sets up the battle lines on the tax cut fight. On the side of extending all the cuts for everyone no matter what are House Republican leaders like Eric Cantor and the party's allies in the tea party and business communities. On the side of eliminating the cuts on the wealthiest Americans no matter what are Pelosi and the progressive movement's traditional allies in labor and the netroots activist community.

In the middle, it seems, is President Obama, who is continuing to suggest compromise is possible even as both sides dig in.

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DISCLOSE Act

Trumka: DISCLOSE Act Would Be Better For Electoral System

Brian Beutler | October 12, 2010, 12:30PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

In the wake of a flood of independent expenditure ads attacking Democratic candidates around the country -- and a series of recent stories suggesting that the Chamber of Commerce may be financing its political activities with foreign money -- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka now says the country would be better off if the DISCLOSE Act had become law.

A partial reversal from his previous position, Trumka today admitted that the DISCLOSE Act -- which the AFL opposed, and which failed in the Senate because of a GOP filibuster -- would be an improvement over the status quo.

"That'd be good for the system, I think," Trumka said at a breakfast meeting with reporters, in response to a question from TPM. "Because the system is awash -- there's more money in the system than there was oil in the Gulf, quite frankly. It's from people that you don't know. You eventually find out I guess, but it's this mysterious money coming in and targeting at three, four, five times what either of the candidates are doing."

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AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO: 75 House Dem Seats In Play In November

Brian Beutler | October 12, 2010, 10:54AM

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

Internal numbers from largest union federation in the country paint a startling picture for Democrats this fall, with nearly 80 Democratic seats in play -- in a year when the GOP would only need 39 net pickups to retake the House. The upshot for Democrats is that almost half of those seats are in districts with high union density, prompting the labor movement to invest in a ground game rivaling the one they mounted in 2008.

At a breakfast meeting with five reporters this morning, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka claimed that the labor movement could make the difference, at the margins, between a Republican return to power on Capitol Hill and the continuing reign of the Democratic party. The hope, in his words, is to create a "firewall" to keep the GOP from retaking the House. His argument is based on AFL's generic congressional ballot, which you can view here.

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2010 elections

AFL-CIO Drops Millions Of Mailers In Key Races

Eric Kleefeld | September 27, 2010, 4:50PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO is continuing to throw its weight into the midterm elections, Politico reports, with a whole new load of mailers in different key races.

All in all, the AFL-CIO is dropping 3.5 million mailers into 66 races this week. Among the key picks:

• A mailer in the Connecticut Senate race, featuring a pro-wrestler in a mask, with the text proclaiming: "Don't let Linda McMahon put the smack down on Connecticut workers.

• A mailer in the West Virginia Senate race, hammering Republican businessman John Raese and promoting Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin: "After the deadliest mining disaster in 40 years, one Senate candidate wants to 'unshackle' management from safety regulations, and one is fighting to make them stronger."

• A mailer in Florida's 8th District, home to the fiery liberal Dem Congressman Alan Grayson, attacking Republican candidate Dan Webster for wanting to renew the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy: "Wall street wrecked our economy, and America's middle class paid the price. Now, Daniel Webster wants to repeat the past."

NV-SEN

Labor Targets Angle On Her Social Security Phaseout Stance

Eric Kleefeld | June 17, 2010, 9:19AM

Senior citizens demonstrating outside a Sharron Angle campaign office

Democrats and their allies in the Nevada Senate race have been gearing up to make Sharron Angle's position on phasing out Social Security and Medicare a big issue in the campaign.

The Alliance for Retired Americans, an AFL-CIO-affiliated group, has been staging a series of events of senior citizens throughout the state. An event was held outside of an Angle campaign office late last week, and a demonstration also occurred at the state Republican headquarters this week. Another event was also held Wednesday, at the Cambridge Community Center in Las Vegas, and another event is set for Thursday in Sparks.

We asked Alliance spokesperson Laura Markwardt about the organization's push going forward. "It's definitely a big issue for Nevada and nationally, as the senior population grows in this country," said Markwardt. "Sharron Angle's stances are obviously -- she's come out and said some very abrasive things, has some dangerous plans and would like to dismantle Social Security and Medicare."

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2010 elections

Labor Balks: White House Jabs Won't Deter Movement

Christina Bellantoni | June 10, 2010, 8:38AM

Union officials bruised by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's loss in Arkansas were beyond irritated when the White House took an anonymous swipe at the labor movement for trying to unseat his Democratic rival, Sen. Blanche Lincoln. But the punchline is that they say they're more determined now -- even if it means the Democrats lose the House this fall.

An unnamed White House official called Politico's Ben Smith to criticize labor's involvement in the Democratic primary, saying they'd "flushed $10 million" on a "pointless exercise."

"If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November," the official told Politico. That's right in line with what national Democrats were telling me right after Halter kept Lincoln to under 50 percent in the May 18 primary, forcing the runoff which she won last night.

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AR-SEN

Pro-Halter Labor Group Targets Seniors With Social Security Mailer

Christina Bellantoni | May 27, 2010, 4:34PM

US Senate candidate Bill Halter (D-AR) mailer.

Pro-Bill Halter labor groups who want to see Sen. Blanche Lincoln unseated are targeting senior citizens with a new mailer in advance of the Democratic primary runoff June 8.

"Sixteen years in Washington have changed Senator Blanche Lincoln. She's forgotten how tough times are for retirees," reads the mailer, obtained by TPMDC. It will be sent to 20,000 Arkansas homes and was paid for by the Alliance for Retired Americans, a seniors group affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

The mailer cites six Lincoln votes to increase Social Security taxes in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2000, and for a budget that would have cut benefits. It boosts Halter, the lieutenant governor, by noting his tenure running the Social Security Administration under President Clinton. "Bill Halter will fight to protect Medicare and strengthen Social Security," the mailer claims, asking people to vote June 8.

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2010 elections

Report: Unions Spending $100M To Help Dems In '10

Eric Lach | May 21, 2010, 11:21AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Big unions will be opening up their wallets in support of Democrats this fall.

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2010 elections

No Looking Back: Big Labor Will Continue Lambasting Lincoln

Christina Bellantoni | May 19, 2010, 2:16PM

Labor unions are doubling down in Arkansas as Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter are set to duel for another three weeks in a Democratic primary runoff election. The AFL-CIO announced this morning they will keep up an aggressive push on Halter's behalf, and a top labor official lashed out over Lincoln's Tuesday night speech after polls closed.

After earning 45 percent of the vote (below the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff) to Halter's 43 percent, Lincoln lamented "outside groups," ordering them to "go home." I asked labor officials about the remark this morning.

"There's nothing outside about people who are members of unions in Arkansas," AFL-CIO political director Karen Ackerman responded in the conference call with reporters. "I don't know what she's talking about. This was an effort initiated by union activists in Arkansas for Arkansas."

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AR-SEN

AFL-CIO Targets Blanche Lincoln On Job Sites

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 22, 2010, 11:05AM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The AFL-CIO is taking its campaign to unseat Sen. Blanche Lincon (D) to union job sites across Arkansas. In a pair new leaflet the union is now distributing to workers, the AFL-CIO slams Lincoln over her opposition to card check legislation and votes in favor free trade pacts like NAFTA.

The leaflets also praise the AFL-CIO's choice in the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Labor has been a key supporter of Halter since he got in the race in March, and the leafletting is just one part of AFL-CIO's independent expenditures in the contest.

Halter has continued to trail Lincoln in public polling ahead of the May 18 primary. The TPM Poll Average for the primary race shows Lincoln in the lead by a margin of 45.8-31.0.

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Democrats

Do Dems Have A Unified Message To Counter GOP Filibuster Of Fin Reform? Not Yet

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2010, 10:59AM

President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Democrats probably didn't expect to find themselves in this position: On the cusp of moving a big Wall Street reform bill to the Senate floor, with Republicans, as if immune from political pressure, banding together to block them. But they knew it could happen. Some even would have preferred this, relishing the optics of allowing the GOP to side with big, unpopular financial institutions.

So surely Democrats and their allies in key pressure groups have rehearsed a bold, unified response, in the event that the GOP follows through on their threat to block debate. Ads are in the can, talking points are drafted, and everyone's been prepped to argue before the world that the Republicans have allied themselves with the firms that wrecked the economy. Right?

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SEIU

Stern's Likely SEIU Successor An 'Ardent Kind Of Extension Of Andy'

Brian Beutler | April 14, 2010, 8:17PM

Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of SEIU

Andy Stern will be remembered as a successful and controversial union leader at a time when labor had little power. Though he and other leaders still lack the clout to win labor's biggest battles--and though he gave rise to schisms within the labor community that have angered many, the outgoing SEIU President raised the profile of a declining movement, and successfully pushed for worker friendly reforms in Washington. With his impending retirement now official, the process of replacing him will soon touch off, and all eyes are on his number two, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer, and Stern acolyte Anna Burger.

SEIU's Constitution holds that Burger will begin serving temporarily in the role of President. That post will end when the Executive Board selects a new, permanent president in an election that must occur within 30 days. Labor insiders believe Burger is likely to prevail, though she will likely have rivals.

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HI-01

AFL-CIO Mailers Back Hanabusa, Slam Ed Case In HI-01 Special Election

Eric Kleefeld | April 12, 2010, 11:46AM

HI-01 House candidates Ed Case (D) and Colleen Hanabusa (D)

The AFL-CIO is throwing its weight into the Hawaii First District special election, actively backing state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa in a new pair of mailers -- and going further by attacking the other Democrat in the race, former Rep. Ed Case.

The mailers target two key union demographics, warning them of the dire consequences that the union says Case's positions would mean for them. Public employees are told of "layoffs," "cutting pensions" and other negative developments, while longshore workers are told: "Ed Case Will Put Your Job AT RISK."

This special election was caused by the resignation of Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who wanted to focus full time on his campaign for governor. The race has seen a potentially crucial split in Democratic support. It has been widely reported that the DCCC is unofficially backing Case, who enters the race with very high name recognition from unsuccessful but very close Democratic primary campaigns for governor in 2002 and a 2006 primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka. Meanwhile, the state Democratic establishment -- as embodied by Akaka and Hawaii's senior Senator Daniel Inouye -- are backing Hanabusa.

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AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Withholds Support From Holden In Primary Over Health Care Vote

Brian Beutler | April 1, 2010, 9:02AM

Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA)

House Democrats who weren't there for the party on the final health care vote are starting to see the consequences. Despite long enjoying the support of organized labor, Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) will not be receiving an endorsement from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in his primary campaign against challenger Sheila Dow Ford.

"He's been good to us on a number of bread-and-butter issues, but this was a revolutionary, historical vote," Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George told the Republican Herald in an interview yesterday. And that means they'll be withholding their vigorous door-to-door campaign.

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Health Care

Against It: A Look At The 34 Dems Who Voted No On Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | March 22, 2010, 9:50AM

Clockwise: Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY), Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)

The 34 Democrats who voted against health care reform last night are by and large a familiar set. They overlap significantly--though not entirely--with the 39 Democrats who voted against the House health care bill in November. Just as in November, most hail from contested districts, in the south and the midwest. But just as in November, there are some surprises--members you wouldn't normally expect to see voting against legislation so closely associated with the Democratic party.

Most of the Democratic "no" votes are as you would expect: conservative members from conservative districts, in many cases facing difficult re-election challenges. Blue Dog chair Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) is one such member. So is Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA).

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Health Care

Trumka: AFL Will Look Closely At Lynch's Health Care Vote When It's Time To Make Endorsements

Brian Beutler | March 21, 2010, 6:28PM

AFL-CIO Sec. Treasurer Richard Trumka

Earlier this evening, outside the House chamber, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) told AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka that he will oppose the health care bill tonight, despite direct pressure from Trumka that he vote for it. Trumka told me in an interview just afterwards that the vote won't be forgotten.

"I told him how important the bill was," Trumka said. "I started off by saying, 'you agree with me that the status quo is unacceptable.' Everybody has to agree with that because this system is broken."

In response, Lynch told Trumka he won't be changing his mind. "He said he was not going to vote for the bill," Trumka said. That may come back to haunt him, according to Trumka.

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AFL-CIO

With Health Care Reform On The Line Unions Turn Sights On Lynch

Brian Beutler | March 20, 2010, 11:20AM

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

Any in-play Democrats playing hard-to-get on health care reform won't have a restful weekend. The unions with AFL-CIO and Change to Win--the two largest labor federations in the country--are letting them know, one-by-one, that their vote for the bill is expected tomorrow, notwithstanding any remaining doubts. Yesterday, AFL put Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) on notice that there will be a price to pay for opposing reform. Today, it's Rep. Stephen Lynch's (D-MA) turn.

Congressman, we will not be able to explain to the working women and men of our union
why you voted against their interests," reads a letter from AFL to Lynch, dated this morning. "We have stood together time and time again and you have made an enormous difference in the lives of our members. It takes courage to make history. We know that you have always had the courage to do the right thing - national health reform is the right thing for Massachusetts families."

You can read the entire letter below the fold. Lynch has been trashing the health care reform bill for days, despite the fact that President Obama has personally asked him to support the legislation.

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Health Care

AFL-CIO Officially Endorses Health Care Bill

Rachel Slajda | March 18, 2010, 5:17PM

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, has announced that the union is officially endorsing the health care legislation released today.

The AFL-CIO is "putting all we have into this landmark legislation, and it will pass," Trumka said during an afternoon conference call. The call came after the executive council voted to endorse the legislation, with a nearly unanimous vote, Trumka said.

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Health Care

Trumka To TPMDC: 'I'm Happy' With Final Health Care Bill

Christina Bellantoni | March 18, 2010, 12:20PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in an interview this morning that union groups view the health care bill as "a good first step."

He did not directly address a question about reports of changes to the excise tax that unions were uncomfortable with early in the negotiations, but lauded the final product and said it can be improved upon.

He said the union talks with people writing the final bill have yielded positive changes, even if it's not everything they initially wanted. "I'm happy about what we've been able to do to change the funding," Trumka told TPMDC in a brief interview in the White House Rose Garden after President Obama signed the jobs bill.

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AR-SEN

Arkansas AFL-CIO: Lincoln 'Yet Another Hypocritical, Flip-Flopping DC Politician' -- And She Took Our Money

Eric Kleefeld | March 17, 2010, 2:26PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

After Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) launched a TV ad proudly declaring that she doesn't work for labor unions, the Arkansas AFL-CIO is hitting back -- attacking Lincoln for taking the union's money for years, only to attack them now.

Lincoln's ad came in response to an attack ad against her by Arkansas For Change, an independent expenditure arm for a group of unions that are supporting her opponent in the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

In a new statement released this afternoon, Arkansas AFL-CIO President Alan Hughes declares that Lincoln is turning into "yet another hypocritical, flip-flopping DC politician." Hughes also says: "Only someone who has become a career politician in Washington DC could spend ten years asking for our support, take hundreds of thousands of dollars from blue collar workers, then turn around and attack us as 'outsiders' because we wouldn't help her this time around."

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AR-SEN

AFL-CIO Backs Halter In Arkansas, Commits $3M To Defeat Lincoln

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 1, 2010, 9:57PM

Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter

A labor source confirmed to TPMDC tonight that the AFL-CIO voted to back new Senate candidate Lt. Gov Bill Halter over Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the May 18 Democratic primary in Arkansas. Three unions within the umbrella group have committed to a $3 million independent expenditure on Halter's behalf.

In the day since he officially announced his intention to take on Lincoln in the primary, Halter has lined up the support from Democratic base groups, including progressive groups MoveOn.org and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Those two, among others, raised nearly $500,000 for Halter from progressives across the country in less than 24 hours.

Lincoln still enjoys the support of at least one prominent national progressive though. The White House says President Obama backs Lincoln as he would any Democratic incumbent.

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