In The News

Labor Leaders turn Occupy Wall Streeters into Useful Idiots

No one outside of the actual Occupy Wall Street protesters believes that the events are anything but a set of union-organized and bolstered campaigns. Union elites are staging these events to try and turn the current anti-union popular sentiment against companies and jobs creators instead.

The unions’ messaging will either co-opt the purpose of the protests or muddy the already confused set of causes coming out of occupy this and occupy that events. Are these protests intending to get banks to lower debit card fees? Is it to get the rich to pay their "fair share" as Obama so wrongly puts it, is it to give unions more tools to intimidate workers (card-check)? Protesters are asking for anarchy, communism, socialism, a dictatorship, end to corporations, and complaining that they are so poor that they have no choice but to run around bare-breasted. 

The protesters are just asking for much more government, or no government depending upon who you talk to. There is no cohesive message, but the unions are about to change that – for their benefit.

Back in March, ex-labor leader and self-title "economic terrorist" Steven Lerner was pushing for these kinds of "disruptions". Here’s an excerpt of a piece by Ezra Klein in the Washington Post:

Union types are always looking for “leverage.” Leverage is what I have that gives me power over you. And Lerner thinks he’s identified the point of leverage that workers and homeowners and students have over the financial system. “What does the other side fear most?” Lerner asked. “They fear disruption, they fear uncertainty.
Now, big-labor is becoming more heavily involved to create the disruption Lerner so often speaks of. Big labor believes that if they can collapse the economy, Americans and politicians will bend to their will more easily. Are they right?

To start, unions are asking for corporations to pay more in taxes to create more jobs – because that makes sense in the land of rainbow-farting unicorns. Soon, big-labor will add their real messaging of instituting card-check and putting limits on how much corporations can donate to political campaigns while unions maintain their ability to bundle and donate unlimited amounts of money to liberal candidates.

Labor leaders were until recently quietly propping up these events, but thanks to a letter from current SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, the amount of union involvement in this supposed people’s grassroots revolt is not only obvious, but flaunted (emphasis mine). 

From: Mary Kay Henry, SEIU President <info@seiu.org>
Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Subject: Occupy Bell Buckle
To: majors.bruce@gmail.com

Dear friend,

By now you’ve seen the thousands of brave students, workers and the unemployed occupying Wall Street.

But did you know that as of yesterday, there are over 300 solidarity "occupy events" happening across the country and around the clock?

In Philadelphia, 1,000+ individuals took to City Hall on Tuesday night.

In Washington, D.C., people have camped out in McPherson Square, symbolically located on K Street, since last week.

In L.A., citizens have spent six straight days and nights outside City Hall protesting against income inequality and joblessness.

The crowds and peaceful demonstrations will only get larger and louder as more Americans find the courage to stand up and demand Wall Street, CEOs and millionaires pay their fair share to create good jobs now.

This is the moment that determines whether this movement succeeds or falls flat. Will you pledge to help the movement spread by visiting an Occupy event in Bell Buckle? You can sign up and find a comprehensive list of events here:

https://action.seiu.org/occupy-wall-street

Over the last few weeks we’ve seen crowds of "Occupy Wall Street" protestors capture the nation’s attention as they stood their ground despite aggressive police behavior and hundreds of arrests.

These courageous young activists have given us all a shot of inspiration and hope that we can indeed turn this country around.

We are proud of the actions taken by 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, SEIU 32BJ and other SEIU local unions to support the Wall Street protests.

But as we talk to other "Occupy" participants across the country, they tell us their first need is people.

So we’re working with our friends at Daily Kos to see if we can help.

Find an Occupy event happening in your city and pledge to sign up to get involved. You can do that here:

https://action.seiu.org/occupy-wall-street

As part of a peaceful, united movement we can do so much more to demonstrate the increasing urgency of the crisis our country faces and shine a light on those responsible.

Let’s go for it!

In solidarity,

Mary Kay Henry
President, SEIU

 And here’s Steven Lerner in his well-known speech to prepare to "terrify D.C." 

 

Support Conservative Daily News with a small donation via Paypal or credit card that will go towards supporting the news and commentary you've come to appreciate.

Rich Mitchell

Rich Mitchell is the editor-in-chief of Conservative Daily News and the president of Bald Eagle Media, LLC. His posts may contain opinions that are his own and are not necessarily shared by Bald Eagle Media, CDN, staff or .. much of anyone else. Find him on twitter, facebook and

Related Articles

One Comment

  1. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) represents everyone getting screwed, of which union workers are a subset, not the main event. Will not be either. Here’s why:

    Occupy Wall Street has already slapped the defibrillator paddles to a constellation of social movements on the critical condition list since at least the run-up to the 2008 election and is drawing thousands new to activism into motion. Every group who ever marched on any of these issues should be part of OWS.

    No doubt, unions have been fighting to draw attention to Wall Street abuses for years, just as OWS is doing. But unions are ignored; media is corporate. OWS fairly brilliantly does not only day-march against Wall Street (*twice a day).. it occupies Wall Street. Occupying is a whole different animal. Every day, groups go out into the establishment’s backyard and make their case. Every night there the group engages, reassesses and adapts at the general assemblies. Unions certainly can help to build Occupy Wall Street in a symbiotic relationship… but they are a single constituency of a larger OWS movement. Any future strikes, or even the threat of a strike, will gain more traction if unions can count on occupiers to lend them their support. That’s called leverage.

    OWS is working as a strategy, it is getting the press coverage and, even better, getting coverage from people who are openly admitting they don’t understand what is happening. The fact that the MSM can’t pin down any specific list of demands is still making them insane. OWS getting erred criticism after erred criticism also working to it’s advantage: It’s a bunch of disenfranchised losers, the corporate media originally tried to mock students as being immature and not weighty. And all that derision, and ridicule as hundreds of thousands have been added to the ranks, has already begun nail them (right wing pundits in the ass) in the long run. “No wait, it’s Obama”, “No wait, it’s Soros”, no wait, it’s the Canadians and the professors, no wait it’s unions. The message is getting out loud and clear while those doing the talking about us have no clue what they are looking at or talking about… they can’t seem to massage it, to twist it… or to subvert it. It’s workin’ well. The average American hear the protest message, knows what the media is spewing about the protestors and it’s just not willing to listening to it anymore.

    OWS is an open-air forum, a deliberating body, a site where its location and form — an occupation with an open-ended process — Unions are used to the idea that they turn up on the day and get the coverage and its a done deal. It’s part of the model that exists through “leadership” and “deals”. (The problem with that model is that leaders too easily get “co-opted” by “the enemy” and the deals that get done are out of the public eye where “inducements” are offered.)

    At this point, OWS peeps are political neutrinos and likely to remain so, but anything is possible. The reason it’s getting attention is because the people that started it aren’t hitched entirely to politicians, and thus are free to tell the (roughly) unadulterated truth. Though there are dissenters who think otherwise, most of OWS is distinctly unlike the Tea Party, and believes government is part of the solution and and occupiers themselves are not so invested in ego or credit… they want attention to be paid to injustice instead… it’s all about the cause. it will eventually need politicians to start doing things to fix the problems that OWS has brought attention to. Politicians are a necessary evil at some point but not now.

    I turn the article’s arrogant argumentative structure back at itself… easily flip it on it’s head this way:. Everybody who is OUTSIDE of OWS does not understand that the specific points of complaint they hear from OWS are only the symptoms of the larger problem OWS has set upon addressing as a primary goal which is…. endemic greed and a corrupted process. This is whole reason OWS exists in the first place. So, for example, down into the nitty gritty, all negotiation of OWS is done in the full view of the public, and available in real time via social media.

    Co-opting OWS is of course possible but will require superpowers larger than a team of union bosses or an Obama.

  2. this poor, poor IDIOT!

    did somebody twist his arm and force him to take out loans? Doesn’t this spoiled brat know he should get a job and WORK his way through college?

    YOU DON’T START YOUR ADULT LIFE WITH A LOAN BIG ENOUGH TO BUY A HOUSE!!!!!

    1. LOL! I agree! There are so many benefits to imposing a Robin Hood tax. [the stock transfer] tax. One, it generates a lot of revenue that we need for education. $50 to $70 billion revenues there could pay for a lot of free higher education for everyone in this country, for example. Two, it would stop some of the high-speed trading that serves no good public purpose. Computer-driven trading, which is — according to some estimates — half to two-thirds of the volume, it’s all Goldman trading to Bank of America, buying it back. It does nothing for society, and yet, it is what is driving the market and the volatility, hurting the real investors like you and me or hundreds of thousands — millions of others. Taxing “THAT” would be “good for the market on top of everything else. Europe’s making changes on this front at the moment.

    2. Anon is hiding because they are a paid media propagandist of the left, simple as that. No different than the twitter bots, same message, same tired ” we need to be more like the Socialists in Europe” propaganda 24/7

  3. If the want to protest the REAL problem they should be protesting against the Mafia/Unions that control the White House!

  4. Anonymous; expect us says:
    October 8, 2011 at 6:40 am

    ???

    =========================================

    What’s wrong, “Anonymous”, are you so ashamed of your left-wing, anti-American ideals you are afraid to use your name?

    UNIONS are greedy and evil and are the reason so many jobs are in China. I am a factory worker but wouldn’t join a union and pay their extortion money (dues) for $1,000 a hour!

    I am a FREE AMERICAN and refuse to allow a union to control my life.

    1. Pffft. I’m a protester like the Tea Party in Boston wearing a Native American disguise. (There are too many scary people with 13 yr old mouths commenting around this cocoon – I choose not to provide them with my personal information. They can suffer being forced to deal with my respectful ideas and positions rather than have option to advance personal attacks.) What, you want me to make up a name? Okay, It’s Herman. Call me Herman. Now you have a real-looking name for me just like you and I have for all the other names here. Good grief.

  5. Co-opting OWS is of course possible but will require superpowers larger than a team of union bosses or an Obama.

    TSK-TSK- without Obama’s Union pals and certain assorted Liberal has-been celebrities, you would still be begging and crying for “someone in the media to pay attention to us.” Quick! Someone water this astro-truf before it wilts and dies the slow death all lazy hippy class warfare movements have died throughout history.

    Still waiting for the signs stating fire Obama to appear at the astro-turf “Occupy a mattress in a park” movement.

  6. Oh I get it now, according to ANON the Socio-bot: Unions are NOT corporate! Never mind the millions they pour into electing the fake Demon-crats right? That dog hasn’t hunted in 50 years! What is the difference between Union thugs taking dues and then using them to elect their Liberal friends, who then pay them back with salaries and pensions that cripple state budgets, from say evil banks donating to politicians for favorable legislation as payback? No difference there. None. Zip. Nada.

  7. As for the idiot in the sign here, no you are NOT 99% of America! 99% of America is not stupid enough to pay 25k for an education that will not result in employment and then cry about it. Why didn’t he get off his ass and work for his education? Oh that’s right, he is among the 99% of these astro-turfers at “Occupy park benches” gatherings that demands a living wage REGARDLESS of employment. My how wonderful!

Back to top button