OBAMA, AT WAL-MART, TOUTS EFFICIENCY; ANGERS LABOR

[Jesus Malverde]

President Barack Obama is showcasing Wal-Mart, often a target of labor groups and other Democratic constituencies, to promote advances in energy efficiency in his broader campaign to confront climate change.

Obama on Friday was to announce commitments from more than 300 companies and local and state governments to use solar energy technology. He also was announcing executive actions aimed at increasing energy efficiency in buildings and appliances. The White House says the solar effort will power the equivalent of 130,000 homes and the administrative actions could reduce carbon pollution in an amount equal to taking 80 million cars off the road for one year.

The White House chose Wal-Mart because the company has committed to doubling the number of solar energy projects at its stores, Sam's Clubs and distribution centers.

But in choosing the giant retailer as the backdrop for his announcement, Obama triggered a backlash from labor unions and pay equity advocates who say Wal-Mart pays low wages and who archly noted that Obama has made pay equity a central issue of his presidency.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-09-06-06-17

[Brigid]

1. "What numbskull at the White House arranged this?"

-- Robert Reich.

[WillyT]

9. Exactly...

So Fucking tone deaf, it hurts.

[Stallion]

11. The Same Guy Who Gave Donald Sterling NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award

twice

[Kelvin Mace]

2. Seriously?

You go to Wal-Mart and you don't discuss minimum wage? You don't meet with a single employee?

And then there is this:

Complicating things for the White House, Obama on Thursday attended a fundraiser hosted by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who sits on Wal-Mart's board of directors.

I guess this explains snubbing the employees. They didn't give you any money.

[Jesus Malverde]

5. oops great catch...nt

[ProSense]

3. Typical AP,

The clashing energy vs. jobs message is not new to the White House. Labor unions, for example, have pressed the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada into the U.S. because it would create jobs. Environmentalists oppose the pipeline, and the administration recently put off a decision on whether to approve it, likely until after the November congressional elections.

...using the situation to push Keystone.

Another report:

<...>

Obama "will stand side by side with a company known for low wages, few benefits, unreliable hours, discrimination against women, violating workers rights and, yes, environmental degradation," Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said in a statement Wednesday. The visit, he said, "sends a terrible message to workers across America."

<...>

The day after his State of the Union address in which he called for boosting the national minimum wage, Obama took thinly veiled shots at Walmart in a speech at a Costco store.

"Profitable companies like Costco see higher wages as a smart way to boost productivity and to reduce turnover," the president said. "But there are a lot of Americans who don't work somewhere like Costco, and they're working for wages that don't go as far as they once did."

Given Obama's support for higher wages and workers' rights, it's surprising that he would plan an event at Walmart during his two-day Bay Area swing, said Steven Maviglio, a veteran Democratic political consultant.

- more -

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Labor-groups-decry-Obama-s-planned-Walmart-stop-5461324.php

[bigtree]

6. Membership in Unions Supporting Obama on Keystone Rejection Outnumbers Those Against

"Labor unions, for example, have pressed the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada into the U.S. because it would create jobs."

Labor Unions Supporting Keystone XL

* Teamsters: 1.4 million
* Electrical Workers: 675,000
* Laborers' International: 500,000
* Operating Engineers: 400,000
* United Association (Plumbers, Pipefitters and Welders): 340,000*


Labor Unions Backing Obama's Rejection of Keystone XL

Service Employees International: 2 million

* United Auto Workers: 1 million

* United Steelworkers: 850,000

* Communications Workers: 700,000

* Transport Workers/Amalgamated Transit: 390,000


http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120206/labor-unions-keystone-xl-oil-sands-pipeline-environmentalists-obama-climate-change-election

[ProSense]

7. Excellent info. Thanks. n/t

[bigtree]

4. awful

. . .touting WalMart workers as 'efficient' is a slap in the face to labor.


Talking Points Memo ‏@TPM 1h
Obama touts Wal-Mart efficiency, angers labor http://bit.ly/1l6Qup9 pic.twitter.com/Ycbee1t20h

[Blue Owl]

8. And the shit they sell is made where again?

Oh yeah, China.

[Brickbat]

10. Not wearing his comfortable walking shoes, I assume.

[Fuddnik]

12. Well, it's not like we're trying to elect a former Walmart Board director as President!

Oh, wait......

[perdita9]

13. I will never shop at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club

I refuse to support the poor labor practices of a bunch of spoiled brats who keep trying to buy my government.

[bvar22]

14. The Walmart in Mena, Arkansas just installed those Robot Self- Checkouts.

Their efficiency just went UP.


Meanwhile, elsewhere in Arkansas:

"I wanted to tell the president I am scared. I am scared for my health. I am scared for the future for my grandkids. And I am scared and sad about the direction that companies like Wal-Mart are taking our country."

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/my-personal-walmart-nightmare-you-wont-believe-what-life?paging=off#bookmark

[Zorra]

15. He's shooting us in the foot with his continual corporate ass kissing, hurting our chances of

retaking the House, and retaining control of the Senate, in 2014.

THE SYSTEM WORKS!

[liberal_at_heart]

16. He just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand poverty. What politician does? That's the problem.