Posted on 10/13/2015 3:25:20 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
First Sanders, now Trumka—are there any capitalists left on the left? On the most recent Meet the Press, Bernie Sanders made news when Chuck Todd asked him if he was a capitalist. "No," shot back Sanders, "I'm a democratic socialist." Mark Halperin was obviously taken enough by the question as to pose it on today's With All Due Respect to Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO.
"No, I'm a trade unionist, quite frankly," retorted Trumka. When Halperin tried to pursue the issue, Trumka laughed it off, calling it a "silly question." Silly? The biggest union boss in America opposes the economic system that made this country great and which creates the private sector jobs his members fill? Employers have to bargain with people who reject the very premise upon which their businesses rest? Silly? You're killing us, Richard. Or should we say "Mr. President," which was the obsequious way in which Halperin and co-host John Halperin addressed Trumka. But kudos to Halperin for posing and then pursuing the question.
View the video here.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Big union boss isn’t a capitalist, either.
Ping to Liberal Media Criticism list.
Did he get that haircut for free? How about that suit?
Where did he get his dinner that day? From the state collective food pantry?
Well knock me over with a feather....
So he is admitting that he would like to drive the companies that he is negotiating with into the ground in favor of government ownership. Isn’t that a violation of ‘good faith’ bargaining?
Good point . . . and love that handle!
How anyone could be surprised by the head of a union being anti-capitalist is an eye-brow raiser. The left is a real enemy, not just brother-from-another-mother. They think the Constitution is the oppressive hand of death men, government money is bottomless and deficits don’t matter.
This ain’t no disco; this ain’t no foolin’ around.
Clarity will come when the bullet meets the bone,
far too late, far too late.
Trumpka is a millionaire, he has money coming out of his ears..yet he doesn’t have to “Spread his own wealth around” gee I wonder why
Trumka has been a red since the 1970’s. He was a favorite of the Trotskyite “Socialist Workers Party” (SWP) and their fronts, including the Militant Forum (where SWP guests spoke to the public) and vice-versa.
Dick looks like he’s eating plenty of pie lately.
Why does Trumka earn over eight times as much as the average American worker?
http://freebeacon.com/uncategorized/trumkas-big-bucks/
ps. I’ve seen these union heads roll in on private jets, wined/dined, treated like royalty.
Unlike the UNION APOLOGISTS on this site, I don’t see ANY NEED for modern day labor unions. If you don’t like your job, you can leave and get a new one (if you’re really worth anything). If you don’t want to leave, and THE MAN is breaking the law, you can call OSHA, EPA, or whoever, or you can file a LAWSUIT. If you don’t want to do any of that, you can stop working and collect WELFARE.
Lots of options today, compared to 100 years ago, and NONE REQUIRE A UNION.
TRUMPKA SALARY $300,000.00 PER YEAR, AND A $180,000 PENSION FOR LIFE WITH COL ADJUSTMENTS.
As Ronald Reagan said several times in 1980:
They are out of touch with the rank and file
Still true, now more than ever.
Now, see how much he donates to charity?
LOL
Wait until the union pension ponzi-schemes really begin to unravel. It is coming fast for them. Their unfunded pensions rival only the Fed Gov.
Trumka and his type will be enemy number one for millions who have “contributed” and have nothing to collect.
Imagine millions of retirement age men getting beat out of their pension they have dreamed about every working day for years.
Trumpka is a COMMUNIST!
Fatso has made millions off the backs of working people. Raping them to further the democrat cause, which in turn helps him get more money.
Rotten man.
Millionaire union honchos are speaking out about income inequality even as they collect six-figure salaries that dwarf those of the average CEO, according to Watchdog.org.
Top labor leaders, including American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, and AFSCME leader Lee Saunders, lamented income disparity at the Ohio AFL-CIO’s state convention. Each union bigwig takes home more than $250,000 per year in salary and perks.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten portrayed herself and other AFL-CIO leaders as the voices of the working class, although AFT paid her $2,022,274 taken from union members and forced “fair share” fee payers between 2010 and 2013. […]
Forced AFSCME dues continue their movement from Ohio taxpayers to government workers to Lee Saunders’ bank account. Saunders was paid $350,058 in 2013. […]
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who was paid $298,542 during the union coalition’s 2013 fiscal year, called for more wealth redistribution from job creators. […]
Union salary levels dwarf those of private sector businessmen. The average CEO earns less than $180,000 per year in salary, according to federal labor statistics. Economist Mark Perry has pointed out that the divisive rhetoric of inequality warriors may help them earn big checks from their members’ money, but it will not do much to create jobs and dynamic companies.
Discussions about “excessive CEO pay” are distorted by looking at only an outlier group of the 200 CEOs of America’s largest companies, out of 248,760 chief executives nationwide. Of course, many young, risk-taking CEOs are running early stage startups and tech companies, and probably make even less than the average CEO as reported by the BLS, as Scott Drum points out to me in an email. Further, he comments that “They’re usually not in it for the salary. They’re in it for the payoff if things go well. If we reduce the size of the Big Payoff, don’t we affect the number of people trying to get there?” The fact that there are almost 250,000 ambitious CEOs making less than $200,000 today on average who are trying to someday be listed by USAToday as one of the top 200 highest-paid CEOs in the US is a sign of a dynamic, wealth-generating economy.
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