Obama, Labor And FDR

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/22643

By Dick Meister September 20, 2009

It's clear that Barack Obama is well on the way to becoming the most pro-labor president since Franklin D. Roosevelt - clear that he's firmly committed to strengthening the vital union rights that FDR secured for U.S. workers seven decades ago.


Consider Obama's address to the AFL-CIO's national convention in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15. Yes, the president was speaking to a friendly audience, saying what the convention delegates wanted him to say and promising them what they wanted him to promise. But his were not empty words.


There's no doubt Obama meant it when he declared that "when organized labor succeeds, that's when our middle class succeeds. And when our middle class succeeds, that's when the United States of America succeeds... We'll grow our middle class by building a strong labor movement."


You need look no further for proof of Obama's firm commitment to labor than his appointing, as secretary of labor, former Congresswoman Hilda Solis, an exceptionally strong advocate of working people and their unions.


Solis has already taken decisive steps to tighten enforcement of the job safety laws that were all but ignored during the anti-labor Bush presidency, despite the great number of preventable on-the-job injuries and deaths. Solis also has tightened enforcement of the laws guaranteeing union rights that Bush's appointees neglected.


The Solis appointment is but one of several significant actions Obama has taken to back his words of strong support for organized labor.


His economic recovery plans, for example, have given badly needed tax breaks to many working people and have extended unemployment insurance benefits to millions of workers who've been hit hard by the economic downturn.

FULL story at link.

[truedelphi]

1. Obama's wording is fabulous. His actions, however, are questionable.

Gone is any commitment on his part to end NAFTA or CAFTA.

And very importantly, while FDR felt that allying oneself with organized banking was a worse evil than allying oneself with organized crime families, Obama has assembled countless teams of people who undermine the working individual, while allowing those at the top of our economic system to further plunder the economy.

After all, Geithner and Bernanke's policies, totaling some two to three trillion dollars of tax payers monies, have gone off to the LARGEST of the banks. Leaving the smaller community banks without resources. And those LARGER BANKS are not making loans to the average American.

Furthermore, the largest state in this Union is floundering. Twenty billions buck, amounting to less than one half of one percent of what has been afforded to Wall Street and measures to keep that entity afloat, was recently denied the people of California by Geithner. Why should Geithner lend us the money, just to keep school teachers, police officials, fire fighters, project managers, social workers etc. employed?

Additionally, the tremendous flooding of monies into the coffers of the LARGEST BANKS, means that funds were available to allow for massive bids on commodities. Thus this summer, the price of grain went sky high, while the price of milk sank.

This resulted in small privately held FAMILY FARMS going under. While the larger farms hit up the parent company for loans to see them through. Next year, there will be far more, non-organic, bovine hormone laced milk on the shelves, from far fewer producers at a much greater price.

But of course, why should Obama care if next year it will be impossible for most working families to afford cheese, or milk. Let them eat soy. Oh, wait -- that is one of the commodities that Wall Street is also bidding up in price.