A teacher friend of mine is upset with Biden for "crossing a picket line" to attend this fundraiser.

[pnwmom]

Last edited Fri May 10, 2019, 07:47 PM - Edit history (2)

ON EDIT: That is how she described it, though some people here are saying that it was a protest, not a picket line.

Does that really matter if union members perceived it as a snub? Is he taking the support of union members for granted? Is that wise these days?

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-joe-biden-los-angeles-20190508-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR0-hYypuXjqjnQPqiQpRW4d8cA8nK6eJwYUa0hW9Quwb7ooJVeBIbK72mQ

The event drew about a dozen protesters from the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which is in a dispute with Kaiser Permanente over resources for mental health care. The union members said they wanted Biden to raise their concerns with the event’s host, Dr. Cynthia Telles, a Kaiser board member.

Stacey Cohen, 50, a licensed clinical therapist who works at Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center, said she was “very surprised” that her union had not heard from Biden or his campaign about their concerns.

“He’s stated … that he’s a union man and that he supports unions. He’s talked about mental health parity and how important it is,” Cohen said. “And yet he’s refusing to meet with us who are the direct providers.”

John Nelson, a spokesman for Kaiser Permanente, said that the demonstration was a “publicity stunt” and that the company has been in active bargaining with the union for nearly a year.

Biden did not interact with the protesters or address the demonstration in his remarks.

SNIP

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/california-health-care-union-protest-joe-biden-fundraiser/story?id=62892502

A health care union in California held a protest at a fundraiser for former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden held at the home of a board member for Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

A small group of members from the National Union of Healthcare Workers -- which represents 3,500 mental health clinicians who work for Kaiser Permanente in California—stood outside the home of Cynthia Telles, a member of the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan boards of directors, to protest long wait times for patients to receive follow-up care and fight inequities between mental health care and medical health care with Kaiser Permanente.

[barbtries]

1. i don't know, but

i don't blame your friend. if he stands with the union, shouldn't he stand with the union?

[saidsimplesimon]

2. Teachers are at the top of the pyramid. imo

Talking the talk and failing to walk the walk will not win the vote of Labor or the Union.

“He’s stated … that he’s a union man and that he supports unions. He’s talked about mental health parity and how important it is,” Cohen said. “And yet he’s refusing to meet with us who are the direct providers.”

[George II]

22. They were healthcare workers, not teachers, and they weren't striking.

[FloridaBlues]

89. Crossing a picket line is when they are on strike? Are they on strike or just mad?

[George II]

90. I don't really know, are they teachers or healthcare workers?

[stonecutter357]

3. I'll take Joe Biden over the rest anyday !

[samnsara]

6. me too!

[JI7]

4. most white men don't care

[left-of-center2012]

16. Why interject race into this?

[JI7]

19. in referring to certain white Male union members that are supporting him

[PoliticAverse]

5. The union workers aren't "on strike" and are still working.

Although I think it would have been a good idea for him to stop and chat with the protestors for a bit.

[pnwmom]

7. He apparently hasn't contacted them since, which is a mistake. n/t

[WeekiWater]

8. Biden has met with many workers represented by unions...

And union leaders since announcing his bid.

This is well known.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. Labor is often taken for granted; but then, Labor leaders often pull their punches.

OTOH, rank and file often pay more attention to these kinds of things than the leaders do, and they remember. Endorsements are important, but it's the votes you need to win.

[Buzz cook]

10. Tone deaf.

This is an unforced error and no candidate can get by with many of them. Biden has a big cushion, but he isn't Bil Clinton or Barack Obama, he still needs all the support he can get.

[Cha]

146. Of course he does.. but this wasn't

a "picket line" therefore Biden did not "cross it".

They were Sanders' supporters protesting.

And, I don't think anyone wants him to be Clinton or President Obama.

[DownriverDem]

11. I support labor but

to me "crossing a picket line" means you aren't on the job & are picketing your place of employment.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. Not crossing an informational picket would certainly demonstrate a strong commitment

to Labor.

[George II]

15. Correct, it was a demonstration (a small one at that) of union members, not a picket line...

There was no work stoppage and they weren't on strike or even at their place of employment. He didn't cross a picket line.

[pnwmom]

20. The teacher used those words to me. She said she would vote for him in the general,

of course, but it really disappointed her.

[George II]

25. Also, some people here are thinking that the demonstrators (not strikers) were teachers....

...but they were healthcare workers.

I'm not faulting you, but the article barely touches on the demonstration, gives little details, and doesn't include photographs of it. This doesn't mean that Biden is anti-union or anti-labor. Events like this are a madhouse (I've been to many, not as high level as this), he may not even have known that the demonstration was going on.

[saidsimplesimon]

105. George, It's not OK

We need the votes from workers in the states that gave IT a win. Perhaps the Russians, not disgruntled, unemployed workers were the deciding factor? We may never be able to prove that Vlad interfered via manipulation of voting machines that could be accessed on the net. Republicans received lots of Russian cash and turned a blind eye to electronic manipulation of the vote.

I can"t understand how we allow a poser to usurp our fragile Republic.

[ehrnst]

143. Speak for yourself. I voted for Hillary.

So no, I didn't 'allow' a poser to usurp our fragile republic. You sound as though you really believe Democratic leaders were sitting around having tea, ALLOWING Trump to take over, when they totally had the ability to prevent all of the 'results' your screed posts list just by.....by..... well SOMETHING that was easy for them to do, but they just didn't. For some reason.


Investigation into Russian interference wasn't about hacking voting machines... so nobody was ever expecting to "prove that."

Looking to scapegoat Democratic leaders for one's anxiety won't get one far on DU.

Just saying.

[Sienna86]

13. And that's why he won't do well in the primaries.

You can talk the talk but the behavior has to match.

[left-of-center2012]

17. "he won't do well in the primaries"

[Cha]

29. Don't look now.. but Joe Biden

is doing very well in the primaries.

[delisen]

166. Primary voting starts in February 2020.

[Cha]

168. Yeah, and Biden didn't cross a picket line like

the OP is insinuating.

[delisen]

169. Sorry I don't understand your response. nt

[Demsrule86]

129. He will be the nominee and this is a set up...so transparent.

[George II]

14. Those were union members demonstrating, not truly a picket line....

...it doesn't appear they were on strike.

Lots of times at events like that they just get swept in without, did he even see them or know what was going on?

I think this may be either mis-characterized or exaggerated.

Before everyone jumps on me for being "anti-union", I was a member of three unions over the years, my brother's union benefits have saved his life, my father was one of the first white members of the Pullman Porters years ago.

[pnwmom]

23. One of the protesters was quoted as being unhappy that Biden didn't reach out to them.

Was he just too busy to stop and say hello?

Stacey Cohen, 50, a licensed clinical therapist who works at Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center, said she was “very surprised” that her union had not heard from Biden or his campaign about their concerns.

“He’s stated … that he’s a union man and that he supports unions. He’s talked about mental health parity and how important it is,” Cohen said. “And yet he’s refusing to meet with us who are the direct providers.”

[Demit]

30. Maybe they should have made a crush of selfie requests.

He might have stopped and interacted with them then, the way he did with people at the taco place earlier.

"Fielding a crush of selfie requests, Biden, wearing a blue blazer and no tie, and Garcetti, in a dress shirt with a tie but no jacket, joined two diners for lunch, chatting about California-specific concerns such as homelessness."

[left-of-center2012]

18. An anti-Biden publicity stunt

nothing more

[Kahuna7]

21. Yep. Wasn't there a news story about this planned protest yesterday? nt

[NYMinute]

24. Another anti-Biden thread that came from

the scrapings at the bottom of the barrel.

The workers are not on strike and are in negotiations.

That was manifestly not a picket line.

The incident did not take place at the workers' workplace.

I agree that it was a publicity stunt probably organized by one of the rival candidates -- I do have a suspect in mind.

[peggysue2]

27. Do tell???

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing that will be staged by rivals: create a brouhaha, say it means . . . something, and then emote disappointment to faux outrage over basically nada.

Wearisome. But this is just the beginning.

[saidsimplesimon]

28. "bottom of the barrel"?

Who's your suspect, the boogeyman or fellow Democrats? In a NY minute, that's all it takes to dispute irrational arguments.

[NYMinute]

39. See post No. 36 for an obvious suspect. nt

[mobeau69]

31. How could they "organize" to not have ole Joe stop and say hello?

What kind of conspiracy theory will be proffered when the Neil Kinnock story is dragged back up?

Joe has too damn much baggage and is creating new baggage still. We need a whole new fresh start.

[NYMinute]

38. They were not "organizing"

They are already in a union which is in contract negotiations.

The union has hundreds of members -- only a handful showed up to carry out this publicity stunt, most probably on behalf of a rival candidate whose numbers are going in the toilet.

[mobeau69]

44. Your words not mine

"a publicity stunt probably organized".

[Demsrule86]

111. It was a Sanders supporter who set this up...pure BS.

[Cha]

142. Some don't care.. I've

noticed.. as long as they think it will hurt Joe Biden.

Problem for them is.. It's been Backfiring!

[pnwmom]

32. Yeah, right. This fight has been going on for a year but it's a stunt organized by a rival.

[mobeau69]

35. Hey, they planted Obama's birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser in 1961.

and waited. and waited. and waited.

[lapucelle]

26. Were these actual picket lines? Who was striking?

The newspaper story describes the groups as "protestors", not striking union workers.

Distinctions like this make a real difference.

[mobeau69]

33. A distinction with a technical difference.

[lapucelle]

49. This is a distinction with a very real difference.

Crossing the line of picketing union members is not anywhere near the same thing as a political candidate or a person in political office encountering and walking near or through small groups of protestors.

[mobeau69]

57. A technical difference can also be very real.

This does seem to be is a small story and nothing to worry about. Supporters should be more concerned about the Neil Kinnock story resurfacing. Save your powder, folks.

[lapucelle]

61. Standard English usage dicates the difference in diction and register.

I recommend reviewing Fowler's basic text for anyone who finds linguistic construction challenging.

I am heartened, however, by your admission that you agree with my point of view.

[mobeau69]

64. LOL

[lapucelle]

67. Have a donut. You've earned it.

[mobeau69]

69. Thanks, but I can't do donuts.

[R B Garr]

36. No, it's all a publicity stunt. They are not picket lines. They

are Bernie supporters.

Edit: they bring back memories of those throwing dollar bills at Hillary when she had a Los Angeles fundraiser. That is no picket line.

[R B Garr]

34. Those are Bernie supporters.

LOL. There is a history with that union. “Publicity stunt” is an apt description.

[NurseJackie]

41. Thanks for the words of clarity and explanation.

So many "stunts" already. I'm still amused that the BS campaign is "boasting" that they're unionized. Uh, yeah... but WHY did the employees of a campaign feel the NEED to be protected by a union??

Look, I get it... it's all politics and they're trying to put the "best face" on what's clearly an embarrassing development and overall situation. But they way it's being handled just borders on the absurd, it's almost farcical in its extremes.

All I'm saying is... not every lemon is suitable for making lemonade. Sometimes you just have to admit the mistake, take the lumps and move on.

I guess if someone on the campaign understood that, he'd still be leading. Clearly, that's not the case.

[R B Garr]

45. So much agreement there, NJ. It really gets old.

There was lots of coverage on these stunts from Hillary’s time in Los Angeles. The organizers of that union are simply Bernie supporters and they were trying to disrupt Biden’s fundraiser. Picket line is a stunt and it’s really desperate.

[Cha]

47. For real?

Is there tangible proof?

[R B Garr]

50. They endorsed Bernie in 2015. I just Googled an article about

it. There was a lot of coverage about it here in the Los Angeles area. I remember reading the comment sections about them and Bernie and the organizers and people were on to them...

[Cha]

53. Oh that

Nurse org.. Got It!

Thanks RB!

[R B Garr]

55. ...

Yes, that is them.

[Cha]

59. And, people are just jumping to

conclusions about how bad Biden is for this.

Anything to try and bring him down.. Pathetic.

[lapucelle]

160. Are they part of the super pac?

[R B Garr]

163. Yes, they are. They have a super PAC. nt

[Demsrule86]

132. The person who planned it was a Sanders supporter.

[Indygram]

37. I'm so glad that the candidate I support has not done or said anything

that bothers me like this.

[NYMinute]

40. If it comes out that they were Bernie supporters

it will backfire on Bernie very very badly.

[saidsimplesimon]

42. I take support from all who support

an agenda that is in the best interests of We The People.

[R B Garr]

43. We the People don't lie about picket lines. No need to sully

unions when their business was simply to disrupt a fundraiser.

[saidsimplesimon]

46. Fundraisers are

excellent opportunities for democratic support and opposition. If Biden can't take the heat......May the best candidate win the primary.

[R B Garr]

48. Lying about picket lines was the subject. It wasn't a picket line.

They were disrupting a fundraiser to get gullible people to repeat platitudes such as yours.

[saidsimplesimon]

51. I don't accuse my allies of being liars.

It's playing into the narrative of rumpublicans. Don't go there, please and thank you.

[R B Garr]

52. It wasn't a picket line. If it's not a picket line, then don't

call it a picket line. Simple as pie. BTW, you should not be browbeating people into accepting false and deceptive propaganda. Please and thank you yourself.

[saidsimplesimon]

58. We agree. (see comment 51)

[lapucelle]

56. Anyone lying about Joe Biden "crossing a picket line" is no ally of Democrats.

[saidsimplesimon]

60. (see comment #51)

Calling fellow Democrats and potential Biden supporters liars is not a great strategy for winning, imo.

[lapucelle]

66. See the definition of "assumption" in any dictionary for a description of the problems

with the premises. People who are confused about the distinction between a picket line and a group of protestors should educate themselves.

No one who lies about Joe Biden is an ally of Democrats.

[saidsimplesimon]

68. The truth is our ally. imo

kiss

[lapucelle]

70. The truth is that Biden did not cross a picket line. N/T

[MrsCoffee]

102. Those who lie are not our allies.

smooch

It is a lie that Biden crossed a picket line.

End of.

[saidsimplesimon]

108. Good evening MrsCoffee,

I don't think we have the luxury of voting based on such trivial or perceived slights, imo. End, smooch on the cheeks, sleep well.

[emmaverybo]

138. Hear hear.

[R B Garr]

77. Speaking about narratives, lying about Democrats is

also a Republican tactic. Don’t go there yourself. Please and thank you. By that, I mean excusing obvious falsehoods meant to perpetuate or conjure bad stuff about fundraisers or whatever their angle is.

[pnwmom]

62. If union members like my friend perceive it as a picket line, then that should matter.

Why didn't Biden speak to the protesters at the event, or reach out to the union later?

[R B Garr]

71. Your friend doesn't get to alter reality, though. It was a protest

LOL. My husband is union. He doesn’t get to stop candidates going to pre-planned events and then fabricate what happened.

That union endorsed Bernie, so maybe Biden already knows what they’re about. The fact that they misrepresented their activity isn’t really a good sign.

[pnwmom]

76. The union was calling it an informational picket line. Do they not get to decide what to call it?

And why didn't Biden reach out to these people? Wouldn't that have been the smarter and more pro-union thing to do?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287110343

Former Vice President Joe Biden may consider himself a “union man,” but one California union won’t be giving him a warm welcome this week.

The National Union of Healthcare Workers plans to hold an informational picket line outside a Biden fundraiser slated for Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to Sal Rosselli, the union’s president. The fundraiser is to be held at the home of a director of the Kaiser Foundation, which operates hospitals as a subsidiary of Kaiser Permanente.

NUHW is locked in a bitter, yearslong fight with Kaiser over mental health staffing levels in the health care provider’s California facilities. Therapists waged a statewide five-day strike in December, and a one-day work stoppage in Pasadena last month.

Rosselli told HuffPost his union first reached out to Biden last week about the fundraiser to be hosted by Dr. Cynthia Telles, a UCLA School of Medicine faculty member who sits on Kaiser’s board. According to an invitation, contribution levels for the event range from $250 per person to $2,800, which is the maximum contribution for the presidential primary allowed under election law.

Rosselli said the union has not heard back from the campaign.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/union-plans-picket-of-joe-biden-fundraiser-hosted-by-kaiser-board-member_n_5cd1c051e4b04e275d510425?k6

[R B Garr]

79. No, they don't get to call an obvious protest a picket line.

That is called a publicity stunt. Obviously they were not there to meet with a candidate about issues. It was about creating a false narrative and image about Biden going into a fundraiser.

[R B Garr]

81. Re: your edit. That union endorsed Bernie years ago.

That is what this is about. We are not fooled.

[pnwmom]

82. Lots of people have left Bernie for other candidates. That union could, too.

Why didn't Biden at least reach out to them afterwards?

[R B Garr]

85. Why did the union misrepresent themselves multiple

times? They have been in active negotiations with Kaiser for about a year. Why would they call it a picket line when it wasn’t? Maybe Biden knows their history.

[pnwmom]

91. How are they misrepresenting themselves? They called it an informational picket line,

which is a real thing.

https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/happens-unionized-nurses-hospital-administrators-agree-long-chapter-11-problem-2cq-solution-9781285415369-exc

[R B Garr]

92. LOL, it wasn't a strike.

Nothing about it was a strike. It was a protest to create an image about Biden and fundraisers.

Seriously, not liking Biden doesn’t mean we get to fabricate, especially about unions. They are just trying to create a narrative that is counter to Biden’s reputation with unions.

[pnwmom]

97. Who said it was a strike?

[R B Garr]

98. Your link

[pnwmom]

101. Where?

[R B Garr]

103. Did you read it?? It's about hospital administrators

and health care workers......not about 12 union members who don’t like a political candidate.

[pnwmom]

113. You're not answering my question. I asked where the article used the word "strike"

after you said it did.

[R B Garr]

119. Read the link.

It’s about hospital administrators and healthcare workers not agreeing. Read what it says about strikes.

It’s not about 12 workers not liking a politician. Read the link.

[pnwmom]

121. You said, out of nowhere, in post 92, that it wasn't a strike. I never said it was a strike.

So this is a straw man.

[R B Garr]

123. Your link is the strawman. That is the point.

It’s not “out of nowhere” to read the link that YOU provided. LOL

[ucrdem]

131. The link you posted in #91.

That one.

[delisen]

93. Yes a year in negotiations. That is a problem in itself

Not enough therapists hired by Kaiser to provide services to mental health patients.

$250 $2800 a plate fundraisers, caviar on the menu and lots of politicians not wanting to go up against Kaiser.

Instead of attacking the healthcare workers, Democrats should be supporting them in the healthcare industry.

This goes beyond a Biden or a Sanders. It is about all of us; it's about patients not being able to get services when needed and being left to the streets or the jail when in crisis.


Patients and workers need to be on even footing with the big providers who control the industry.

[R B Garr]

94. This is not about healthcare workers. That union has a certain

history. If they misrepresent themselves as they did with this event, then that looks to be the problem.

[delisen]

95. Can you elaborate on the history of the union?

[R B Garr]

96. You can Google, and I would bet you are aware they

are Bernie supporters.

Edit: see my post #50

[delisen]

104. Is it the SEIU? I am interested in the facts, not whatever candidate they support

Democrats need to reach out to SEIU workers not ignore them

There are real problems with the delivery of mental health care. Big employers keep trying to made workers feel guilty and increase caseloads even as execs make huge salaries. and patients don't get needed care. It can get very depressing.

Too often when people think of unions thy think of construction workers who are paid much better. Ironically construction workers unions backed Gov Scott Walker(2010-2018) in Wisconsin in helping him shaft public sector union workers, such as teachers.


https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2018/02/14/kaiser-permanente-looking-to-cut-starting-wages.html

SEIU-UHW represents over 55,000 Kaiser employees in California. The union’s contract with the health system expires at the end of September.

With more than 16,000 workers in the Sacramento area, Kaiser is the region's second-largest private employer, after Sutter Health.

Hundreds of health care workers are expected to participate in protests Wednesday at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento over the anticipated wage cuts, according to SEIU-UHW.

“They haven’t given us a valid reason” for the anticipated cuts, Bernice Sical, an admitting representative who has worked at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento for 23 years, said Tuesday. “We’re going to put on a demonstration tomorrow to let them know how much this would impact patient care.”

Sical added that the workers will be demonstrating on their own time — either before or after work, or during breaks — to ensure the protests do not impact patient care.

[ucrdem]

106. No, NUWH. It's an Oakland-based union that split from SEIU in 2009.

https://nuhw.org/about/

[delisen]

109. Thank you.

[R B Garr]

110. Wow, a lot of contradictions in that. Hard to believe. nt

[pnwmom]

114. Yes, it is. It is about healthcare workers trying in every venue they could, in every way they could

to get more attention for their voices.

And you're putting them down because they went to a place where they hoped they'd be heard.

[R B Garr]

120. 12 workers who wanted Bernie to stay in the race a few years

ago is not about healthcare workers. LOL

[ucrdem]

78. If he was fool enough to strike up a conversation they would have heckled him.

Hillary made that mistake once in 2016. Fool me once, etc.

[saidsimplesimon]

73. Thank you,

On second thought, no further comment.

[Demsrule86]

124. Yotu hate Biden and have forever so you want this to be true...it wasn't a

Pickett line...and there is no such thing as a perceived picket line.

[pnwmom]

156. No, I definitely don't hate him. I'm just not as impressed with him

as his avid followers are.

Thinking we could do better doesn't equal hating him.

[Demsrule86]

158. Ok...but this was an obviously staged 'demonsration' by a known Bernie supporter.

And what if Biden is the nominee despite your opinion...do you think this will help us win? I have gone to great pains not to post stuff that is bad for the other candidates...things they have said or done... because at the end of the day I want to win. This is a baseless and potentially damaging hit which the right wing will use. Let's not give them ammo.

[WeekiWater]

155. You should correct your friend and explain to them what a picket line is.

Friendship often comes with responsibility. Because your friend doesn’t understand unions and picket lines doesn’t mean it can’t be explained to them.

[Turbineguy]

54. Trump wouldn't do that!

We'd better keep Trump!

[PDittie]

171. No

We ought to nominate a better friend to labor than Joe Biden.

[highplainsdem]

63. Mini-demonstration announced days earlier by union prez who supports Sanders. See

the replies to an earlier thread about this:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287110343

[pnwmom]

65. I wonder why Biden didn't stop to shake the hands of the protestors

and to talk to a few of them?

[ucrdem]

72. Because he wasn't born yesterday and knew how badly that would turn out?

Just a guess.

[pnwmom]

115. Why? This is a union that has been voicing their concerns for more than a year.

Why wouldn't they want to bring them to Biden and every Democrat who would listen?

[ucrdem]

126. If all they wanted was a handshake, they could have stood in line. nt

[Demsrule86]

159. This was a hit and they wanted a confrontation...ignoring them was the best action...

Don't feed the trolls...Biden avoided that quite well I think...no big headlines...must be so disappointing for some (not you).

[mobeau69]

125. he wasn't born yesterday

Ain't that the truth!

[ucrdem]

128. ...

[emmaverybo]

140. You have been called on this and yet persist. nt

[ucrdem]

74. Joe is no fool. nt

[floppyboo]

75. clicked on the thread. I see they had reached out to Biden

weeks before, so he had plenty of time to reach out and win this union over to his side. Seems like he missed an opportunity.
Its not like Sanders 'owns' unions. Every candidate should make the best of every opportunity to meet with them.

IMO, Unions are the only way to save capitalism. Works great in Germany. Every board of a publicly traded company has to have 50% Union representation.

[highplainsdem]

84. No, it wasn't "weeks before." Please read more carefully. And check dates. That article was

last Tuesday, the fundraiser was the next day, and the union prez said they'd reached out to Biden "last week." Could very well have been just a couple days' notice.

[floppyboo]

86. I stand corrected. Not 2 weeks. Some days. Makes some difference.

But not enough to convince me that he wasn't evading them. But what do I know? Or anyone? What is 'reaching out'? Could have been a tweet got buried I suppose.

[ucrdem]

80. Can we assume that your friend supports a candidate who is not Joe Biden?

I have a few friends like that. They have their own views of things.

[pnwmom]

99. I don't know who she supports but I don't think it's Bernie or Biden,

though she'd vote for any D in the general.

[emmaverybo]

83. Disturbing. Another DU post has entirely different take on this story from a "friend" too

.https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287114305

[pnwmom]

100. Some Democrats not only are friends with union members, they're married to them

or are union members themselves.

And union members and non-union members talk to each other.

So that isn't surprising.

[emmaverybo]

118. I understand that. But read the link I posted.

[WeekiWater]

87. A picket line?

[FloridaBlues]

88. Isn't a protest different from a picket line?

[LongtimeAZDem]

107. Yes, and a setup is always a setup.

[Cha]

112. Yes, so why is the OP posting "picket line"

that Joe Biden supposedly "crossed"?

[pnwmom]

117. Because that is what my teacher friend called it, and she's a union member.

And the union that ran the event called it an informational picket line.

The teacher wanted to know why Biden didn't reach out to the union members, and I thought she had a good question.

Why are we quibbling about words here?

I realize that Biden could be our nominee. Don't all of us WANT him to have as strong support among the unions as possible? Do we want to cede any to the R's?

[Cha]

122. It's a Protest of BS supporters.. but carry on

with your continuing attempts to bring down Joe Biden.. trying to imply he's anti-union. It only backfires.

[Demsrule86]

127. It is not a picket line and you should fix the OP.

[emmaverybo]

130. Agree.

[redstateblues]

144. Union member here- this is another failed attempt to smear Biden.

The usual suspects

[Cha]

147. Mahalo, Union member, redstateblues.

[pnwmom]

116. An informational picket line is the term the unions use. n/t

[ucrdem]

133. But not to mean a line that can't be crossed, like a real picket line.

From your link in #91: an informational picket line is used to distribute information before contract negotiations. Were these protesters doing that?

[pnwmom]

134. Do you think Biden was wise to walk past them without stopping to talk?

It seems like he talks to everyone else.

[ucrdem]

135. Yes, because they were there to embarrass him.

Like they tried to embarrass Pelosi and Feinstein. It's gotten to be a regular thing since, oh, 2016.

[pnwmom]

139. How would he know that? Maybe they wanted him to listen to them

and he gave up the chance.

[ucrdem]

141. Because he's a good politician?

It's his job to know that. And I think you should probably change the OP as it's misleading.

[redstateblues]

145. Very weak dodges

[dogman]

148. A Union person knows what a picket line is and what it represents.

There may be separate gates even, but if you are Union you know what is right and that the picket line extends around the entire project. He made his choice.

[ucrdem]

150. Okay but this wasn't a construction site or workplace. It was someone's home.

The protesters may have had a legal right to be there but I don't see how their protest could be considered a labor action, or an informational picket line. It was simply a protest, and it's misleading to represent it otherwise.

[dogman]

151. They are a Union.

A true Union member knows what that means, but we still have free choice. Your choice shows who you are as a Union member. I know where I stand with Unions. Biden knows what's at stake and made his choice. Health workers are free to choose and to inform the people attending an event of their concerns. He can ignore them as a stunt at his peril. Apparently he is not concerned with their concerns as he is their bosses ability to fund raise. As I said we have free choice. He's not new at campaigning.

[ucrdem]

152. But if it's not a labor action they're simply private citizens protesting at a political event.

They may have had a right to be there but Biden was under no obligation to honor any picket line because there wasn't one. And pretending there was for the purpose of bashing a candidate is simply playing politics and a poor reflection on those who participated.

[dogman]

162. It is a labor action.

It is called an informational picket. I stand with the workers any and every day. As I said, Biden can ignore workers, it is his choice, but workers will remember who stands with them. There are more workers than owners,they have the money but the workers have the votes if they choose to exercise their power.

[ucrdem]

167. No. It was neither a strike nor an informational picket as it wasn't at a workplace. nt

[Demsrule86]

136. Sal Roselli...Sanders supporter...organized fake picket line. Going to backfire.

[dogman]

149. So you get to pick Union leaders and who they support?

Glad you're here to establish Labor relations for those workers. That is really fake.

[Demsrule86]

157. He is a Bernie guy and this was a staged Demostration intended to embarrass Biden...but in my view

it embarrasses Sanders and makes him look desperate...as his supporters use every dirty trick they can...starting with Flores and now this guy. Sad.

[dogman]

161. I get it, Bernie guys are bad, Biden guys are good.

Bernie guys work, Biden guys own, yep, there is a difference. Bernie is such a mastermind and puppeteer, scary huh?

[Demsrule86]

164. Staging shit in general is bad and reeks of desperation.

[dogman]

165. So Unions should just take what they are given?

You really don't get it.

[NBachers]

137. More BS from the BS BS'ers - This was a plant by Sanders supporters to make Biden look bad.

More of the same old BS. I'm tired of it.

If past is prologue, we can expect more.

[RelativelyJones]

153. Sounds like a manipulative publicity stund by twelve (not 12,000 or 1200) people.

[Deb]

154. I have a Republican teacher friend who would have been upset too

But mostly because she felt ignored by VP Biden. Did she get to see Professor Biden?

[WeekiWater]

170. Thought this one would have been self deleted by now.

Hopefully you set your friend straight.

[Gothmog]

172. This was not a picket line

This was not a picket in the real world http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/picketing.html

Industrial action by unionized workers (called pickets) who either are on, or are trying to gather support for, a strike by assembling near the entrance to the employer's premises. Pickets try to persuade (1) coworkers to join them, (2) workers of other firms (such as delivery men) to refuse to enter the premises, and (3) customers to refrain from doing business with their employer. To be lawful, picketing is usually required to be approved in a union ballot.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/picketing.html

In the real world this is not a picket