Trump’s Inroads in Union Ranks Have Labor Leaders Scrambling

The New York Times ^ | February 17, 2017 | Noam Scheiber, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush

[2ndDivisionVet]

Donald J. Trump redrew the electoral map with his rousing economic nationalism and evocation of a lost industrial age. It was a message that drew many union members to his cause. And now it is upending the alliances and tactics of the labor movement itself.

In early November, workers at the Momentive chemical plant in upstate New York went on strike to beat back pension and health care concessions. By January, the workers were invoking some of Mr. Trump’s populist campaign themes — but with a twist. They planned to picket outside the Manhattan home of the billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman, whose private equity firm until recently owned a share of the company, and whom Mr. Trump has appointed as an outside adviser on jobs.

“We used that angle — he’s one of the richest men in the country, has been appointed by Mr. Trump as the so-called jobs czar,” said Darryl Houshower, vice president of the local. “We were pressuring him, hoping he would put some pressure on the company.”

Whatever happened behind the scenes, they got the result they wanted. The day before the protest was originally planned this month, the company backed off a number of key demands. The workers ratified a new contract several days later....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Next it's on to the blacks.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Blacks yes. Every high-rise that employs illegals to do their janitorial work in the evenings would be my first target. E-verify. Replace them with Americans-no commute. Those used to be good start-up jobs. In the daytime those workers can tend to family business or study. At the beginning of their shift they can be taught money management by one of the financial types in the building. Win, win,win.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Question: Can they pass the drug test? With a night time job they will stay out of trouble.

[bigbob]

This is why the Trump “movement” did what the Tea Party never could - his populist America First message appealed to a lot of people who would never call themselves conservatives. Non-governmental union members are WORKING Americans who contribute to society, and they could see that Trumps agenda could do more for them and their families than anything any union ever did. The Unions could negotiate higher wages maybe, which would help the member surive a litttle more comfortably today, but Trump’s message promised to make it possible for the members children and grandchildren to not just survive but have the kind of future that years of Obama and the ineffective administrations R and D alike were robbing them of.

[Jimmy The Snake]

Excellent point. Populist message played more to the “middle.” Every election we fight over the 10% of the Independant middle. Call it brand loyalty like in the Coke/Pepsi cola wars.

I always felt that the Tea Party got mislabeled as an extreme right wing, anti-abortion, religious group which hurt its appeal to the “middle”

[wildbill]

The “Tea Party” was never a party. It was a grassroots movement that was never consolidated into one solid organization.

In my opinion the movement lost focus and steam when it degenerated into separate groups, all trying to use the name and in many cases hijacked by “leaders” who jumped on the front of the line in order to make it their personal cash cow.

If someone like Trump had come along, with enough charisma to meld all the grassroots supporters into a real single organization, it could have been the forerunner of Trumpism, but no conservative/populist stepped forward.