For more information
wandasmartin@aol.com
(202) 330-2022

Maryland State Education Association Endorse Shelton Martin for Delegate

Lanham, MD- Today the Friends of Wanda Shelton Martin are pleased to announce the endorsement of the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) in her campaign for the House of Delegates from the 47th District. “I am honored and humbled by this endorsement. The Maryland State Education Association is the workers who take a significant responsibility in developing our children. That is why this endorsement means so much to me. I am committed to strengthening our Education system while recognizing the hard work of the members of the MSEA.”

When Wanda kicked off her campaign she announced a platform of three E’s, one of them being education. For more than a year Wanda has been sharing with the residents of the 47th district her plan to improve our education system and prepare our young people for stronger futures. A product of public schools herself Wanda put both of her daughters in the public school system as well and knows the challenges we face as a community. Educators and parents will have no greater champion of education in Annapolis than Wanda Shelton Martin.

Wanda Shelton-Martin is a candidate running for the Maryland House of Delegates in the 47th Legislative District. Her campaign is focused on the four E’s of Economy, Education, Environment, and Elderly.

August 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Sestak likely to receive labor support

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, July 17th- Delegates of the Pennsylvania American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) will meet on August 12th and Democratic Pennsylvania United States Senatorial candidate Joe Sestak will likely be endorsed by the labor federation over former Lehigh Valley Republican Congressman (15th Legislative District) Pat Toomey. While serving three two-year terms in Washington, DC, Mr. Toomey supported pro-labor legislation less than ten percent of the time.

Pro-business organizations, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, are sponsoring television advertisements across Pennsylvania attacking Mr. Sestak.

In May Mr. Sestak defeated the AFL-CIO supported incumbent Democratic Senator Arlen Specter to become their party’s nominee for the November election.

Mr. Sestak did receive support from the labor community in the May election including from the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1776 and the United Steelworkers of America (USW) Union Local 2599 in Bethlehem.

After the AFL-CIO meets on August 12th and announces which political candidates the labor federation will support in the November election, the labor community will conduct educational programs requesting union members’ support the candidates. Mr. Sestak will likely be one of those candidates.

Recently, two Pittsburgh television stations removed anti-Sestak advertisements paid for by the Chamber of Commerce because they inaccurately stated what Mr. Sestak’s voting record is while serving in the House of Representatives.

The Tea Party “Catch 22”

The Tea Party movement has started to come unglued over a series of internal contradictions that amount to an identity crisis. The Tea Party is caught in a “Catch 22” position that has largely been ignored by the corporate mainstream media.

Just this morning I watched a local PBS show where a Republican operative claimed that the Tea Party movement was not “Republican, Right Wing or racist.” The comment appears to be the Republican Right Wing official spin on all things “Tea Party” in nature. Unfortunately, the claim really lacks credibility because it conflicts with the facts on the ground all over the nation.

Anyone who really watched the development of the Tea Party movement, as part of the anti-healthcare reform effort, understands that it was a creation of Fox News and corporate funded Right Wing Republican operatives. Despite many claims to the contrary, it brought very few new faces into the political process.

What the Tea Party public relations campaign did was simply “re-brand” the various largely discredited, Right Wing fringe elements in the Republican Party under a new name. It did con the mainstream corporate media very effectively into calling blatant corporatist, economic elitist policies “populist.” It was a bad joke that the media completely missed or just ignored.

Like the fake ACORN pimp and voter registration scandals, the storyline falls apart completely when the details are examined in any detail. The spin relies on manufactured “facts” that are really outrageous lies being told over and over again. In time, the storyline falls apart but often the damage has been done. It appears the mainstream corporate media has learned absolutely nothing from their Iraq War-Weapons of Mass Deception experience.

The reality is that there is probably not much of a Tea Party movement outside of Republican Right Wing corporate control. When it comes to economic populism, the Tea Party has either been completely missing in action or in outright opposition to every proposal that is populist in nature.

Our middle class has been under constant attack by corporate forces for decades. The Reagan-Bush Republicans have been pushing changes in government policy that benefit only the most elite of economic elitists for 30 years. American workers are being driven out of the middle class by government policy and market power. The Republican Right has successfully placed many of the levers of power in government in the hands of the corporatist economic elite. Some Democrats assisted parts of this corporate take-over of government but it was overwhelmingly Republican effort.

The government is not the enemy if it is controlled by the majority of middle class Americans. It is a check on excessive corporate power under those circumstances.

The genius behind the Tea Party campaign is that it is a corporate created public relations/political campaign designed to promote pro-corporate economic policies via government while calling the movement “anti-corporate and anti-government.” The racism angle is a just a way to hook “poor and middle class whites” into an effort designed to economically benefit the wealthiest of the wealthy at the expense of “the poor and middle class of all colors.”

Racism has long been used to divide working Americans up along color lines so they do not demand a better deal from the economic and political elite. Racism serves an economic purpose and always has served an economic purpose. Racism is a sucker bet for working Americans. It has been a key element in building the Tea Party movement and the Republican Party since Richard Nixon. Republican Right wing economic policies are a disaster for 90% of Americans and social wedge issues including race have been the key to Republican victories for more than a generation.

If the Tea Party was really a new creature, it would be fielding third party candidates everywhere under the Tea Party name. Republican and Right Wing operatives claim it is independent of the Republican Party but at the same time strongly oppose real independence. The Republican Party is the Tea Party. The Tea Party is just the most extreme elements of the Republican Party devoted to driving any remaining moderates out of the Republican Party.

You cannot support Pat Toomey-Club for Growth economic policies and still claim to be a populist movement. You have to support economic policies that increase the wages of American workers, support government measures to help the unemployed, curtail the ability of corporations to move jobs outside the United States and sell untaxed imports in our country, shift the tax burden back in the direction of corporations and the Super Wealthy instead of putting it on the middle classes and seek to regulate corporate market power to be an economic populist.

Economic populists do not make excuses for BP like Rand Paul or Sharon Angle. Economic populists do not oppose government deficits during a severe economic downturn nor support government deficits in good economic times, like the Republicans are doing. Opposing better access to affordable healthcare is not a populist position. Giving massive tax cuts to wealthy people while our government is running massive deficits and local governments are firing teachers, firefighters and police is simply stupid economics and has nothing to do with economic populism.

If the Tea Party is” populist” in nature, as they claim, then the policies they support should demonstrate that populism. If the Tea Party is independent of the Republican Party, then they should field independent candidates in the November general elections to prove their independence. If the Tea Party is not racist, then they should condemn the expression of racism from within their movement every time they occur. If the Tea Party is not an expression of extreme Right Wing sentiments, then they should stop supporting the political agenda of the Far Right.

American voters will learn in coming months just how fake and flakey the Tea Party con job is by watching the Tea Party Republicans seeking office in November. You will learn nothing about this from Fox News but the mainstream media should not drop the ball on this story in 2010. The voters deserve a real discussion about the unreality of the Tea Party reality.

Written by Stephen Crockett (Host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. Phone: 443-907-2367. Email: demlabor@aol.com.

Feel free to publish without prior approval.

July 12, 2010
REPUBLICANS JUST DON’T LIKE THE UNEMPLOYED, CONT’D….

I’ve been marveling in recent months at the ways in which Republican lawmakers and candidates seem to actively dislike — on a personal level — those who’ve lost their jobs in the recession. It’s kind of odd, given that the unemployed don’t seem to have done anything to offend the GOP and earn the party’s disdain.

In the latest example, we see Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett (R), the frontrunner in this year’s gubernatorial race, arguing publicly that jobless workers in his state are choosing not to work, preferring to live on meager unemployment aid.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett on Friday accused some jobless Pennsylvanians of choosing to collect unemployment checks rather than going back to work, prompting swift criticism from his Democratic opponent and one of the state’s top labor leaders.

“The jobs are there. But if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there,” Corbett told Harrisburg radio station WITF at a campaign stop in Elizabethtown. “I’ve literally had construction companies tell me, ‘I can’t get people to come back to work until . . . they say, “I’ll come back to work when unemployment runs out.” ‘ ”

I obviously can’t speak with confidence about what some guy told some other guy who in turn told Corbett. But the general argument is getting quite tiresome.

“The jobs are there”? No, they’re really not. Nationwide, there are five applicants for every one opening, which is a terribly painful ratio. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is currently at a 26-year high.

Corbett not only seems confused about economic conditions, but his animosity about the jobless’ attitudes is awful. Yes, I can appreciate the fact that an unemployed worker who’s exhausted his/her benefits will be more desperate to take any job than an unemployed worker who’s still receiving public aid. But this dynamic matters a whole lot more when there are plenty of job opportunities for those who want them. That’s just not the current reality.

To hear Corbett tell it, the unemployed prefer to be unemployed — turning down job opportunities that pay more, choosing to rely on aid that offers far less. Worse, Corbett doesn’t seem to realize that his approach makes the larger problem worse — cutting people off from unemployment benefits undercuts consumer spending, which in turn leads to less demand and fewer job opportunities……

Read the rest of this article at

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024674.php

JULY 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

John Callahan seeking the endorsement of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, June 19th- House of Representatives 15th Legislative District Democratic candidate Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan is seeking the endorsement of the Pennsylvania American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in Harrisburg.

Mr. Callahan and Independent candidate Jake Towne are challenging Republican Congressman Charlie Dent in the November election.

On May 18th Mr. Dent defeated fellow Republican Matt Benol while Mr. Callahan has no challengers for the Democratic nomination.

Mr. Callahan is expected to receive most or all of the support of the labor community.

Mr. Dent is seeking a fourth two-year term in representing the Lehigh Valley in Washington, DC. Mr. Dent’s labor voting record has decrease each term since first being elected. He voted against raising the minimum wage, voted against providing loans to the American automobile makers and voted against the Employee Free Choice Act/Card Check (EFCAct).

The labor community including unions of the Building and Construction Trades Council; the AFL-CIO of the Lehigh Valley; public sector unions; and industrial unions; have held fundraising events for Mr. Callahan’s campaign.

The 15th Legislative District has been held by a Republican for six consecutive terms. Former Republican 15th Legislative District Representative Pat Toomey did not seek a fourth term in 2004. Mr. Toomey is challenging Democratic nominee Joe Sestak in replacing Arlen Specter representing Pennsylvania in the United States Senate in Washington.

Meanwhile, Mr. Callahan has completed and summitted a candidate questionnaire of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. The labor federation will not endorse an candidate unless they first answer the questionnaire.

According to the questionnaire, Mr. Callahan if elected would vote for passage of EFCAct. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives 241-185 in March 2007 but was blocked by a Senate fillibuster in June 2007.

Mr. Callahan would also oppose a national “right-to-work” bill that would prohibit unionized workers and their employers from voluntarily agreeing to “union security” contract language.

He stated on the questionnaire if elected he would support allowing former President George W. Bush tax cuts for the top income brackets to expire. He vowed to support the raising of the federal minimum wage and automatic adjustments on an annual basis of the mimimum wage.

The AFL-CIO delegates will meet on August 12th to vote on which candidates the organization will endorse in Pennsylvania. Mr. Callahan will likely receive the endorsement of the labor federation because of Mr. Dent’s poor labor voting record.

Wall Street Front Group Celebrates Record Success Electing Radical Pro-Corporate, Pro-BP Candidates

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/26/clubforgrowth-radical-sucess/

Roll Call’s John McArdle reported this week that the radical Wall Street front group “Club for Growth” is “celebrating” a near perfect winning streak this election cycle so far, especially given the results in run-off elections last Tuesday. The Club is known for running hard-hitting attack ads, especially in Republican primaries, against candidates who would consider raising any form of taxes on the rich or have done anything to hold powerful corporations accountable. Noting the Club’s historic role of purging moderates from the GOP, Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) is quoted in the article calling it the “Spanish Inquisition.”

Chaired by prominent Wall Street investors like Thomas Rhodes and Richard Gilder, as well as the wealthy and reclusive Howie Rich, the Club collects funds from employees of J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, while being buoyed by large donations like a $1.4 million contribution from investor Stephen Jacksons of Stephens Groups Inc. The hand-picked candidates of the Club claim to lead the tea party movement, even though polls show that 70% of self identified tea partiers want the government to help create jobs, and nearly half want government to rein in executive bonuses.

Despite this contradiction, the Club-endorsed primary winners are already tacking to the extreme, pro-corporate right. For example, with BP’s oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Club candidates are rushing to defend the rights of corporations over the rights of the American victims of the catastrophe:

– State Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC), the Club-endorsed candidate to win in the primary run-off for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, attacked Democrats for holding hearings to investigate BP’s crimes. In a post on his website, Scott said, “Democratic lawmakers seem to enjoy hauling CEOs before their committees so they can grandstand and condescend to them.”

– Mike Lee (R-UT), the Club-endorsed candidate who won in the primary run-off for the Utah Senate seat, said recently that he wants to keep the low $75 million dollar liability cap for companies like BP. Lee said it would be a “mistake” to raise the liability cap for companies like BP and Anadarko, even if maintaining the status quo leaves “taxpayers on the hook for part of the damage.” Lee said he wanted taxpayers, rather than BP, to pay for the oil spill because the low liability cap was part of a “set of settled expectations that you give to a business when it decides to make an investment.”

– Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the Club-endorsed candidate who defeated incumbent Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) in the primary run-off last Tuesday, was asked in a debate last week if he agrees with Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) apology to BP executives. Gowdy recommended that Barton should have “stuck by his guns” and not apologize for apologizing to BP. He then said that the Obama administration should not “use the criminal justice system to extort money” from BP.

– Sharron Angle (R-NV), the Club-endorsed candidate who won in the Nevada Senate primary, told Nevada Newsmakers that in the wake of BP’s spill, the government needs to further deregulate the oil industry.

– Jeff Duncan (R-SC), the Club-endorsed candidate who won the GOP nomination in the South Carolina 3rd Congressional district run-off, closed his campaign by arguing for expanded offshore drilling last week. As one of South Carolina’s most right-wing state lawmakers, Duncan proudly refers to himself as a “states’ rights” politician.

– Mike Pompeo (R-KS), the oil executive and Club-endorsed candidate in Kansas’ 4th Congressional district, said his first reaction to BP’s oil spill was the “fervent hope that Congress doesn’t overreact” and curtail dangerous offshore drilling.

While much has been reported on the impact of the tea parties and their role in elections this year, the true driver for the hard right are corporate front groups like FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth. Using Wall Street cash, these fronts have helped to boost a cadre faux populists who are really just shills for large banks and foreign oil giants like BP. Notably, financial conglomerate J.P. Morgan, which funds the Club, is one of the largest shareholders of BP.

JUNE 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

House of Representative Paul Kanjorski to again be challenged by Lou Barletta

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 4th- Incumbent United States House of Representative Paul Kanjorski (Democrat-11th Legislative District) defeated Lackawanna County Democratic Majority Commissioner Corey O’Brien on May 18th for their party nomination and will again be challenged by Hazleton Republican Mayor Lou Barletta in November. Mr. Barletta has challenged Mr. Kanjorski twice before including in 2008.

Mr. Kanjorski has one of the best labor voting record’s in Washington but Mr. O’Brien was supported by several labor union’s in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

According to the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) labor federation in Washington DC, Mr. Kanjorski has voted to support labor legislation 94 percent of the time.

Several unions that supported Mr. Kanjorski in the past contributed to Mr. O’Brien. The AFL-CIO endorsed Mr. Kanjorski.

Kevin McHugh, Business Manager of the International Association of Bridge Structural Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union Local 489 in Yatesville, told the newspaper as a Lackawanna County Commissioner Mr. O’Brien supports the hiring of unionized construction workers for county projects. Local 489 endorsed Mr. O’Brien.

John Gatto, Assistant Business Manager of the Painters and Allied Trades District Council 21 in Drums stated Mr. O’Brien has supported the unions of the building trades but Mr. Kanjorski’s labor voting record couldn’t be ignored and his union endorsed the incumbent.

Mr. Kanjorski voted to increase the federal minimum wage in January 2007 and voted for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCAct)/Card Check legislation in 2008. The EFCAct legislation passed in the House of Representatives 241-185 but failed in the Senate. The labor community made passage of the legislation a priority but because several Democrats would not support it, EFCAct failed in the United States Senate.

Mr. Barletta received the support of several unions during his challenge of Mr. Kanjorski in 2008. They included unions that represent firefighters and the police in the region. The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Union Local 60 in Scranton, Local 860 in Dunmore, Local 104 in Wilkes-Barre and Local 507 in Hazleton supported Mr. Barletta. FOP Lodge #2 also supported Mr. Barletta.

David Schreiber, President of Local 60, which represents 137 members of the Scranton Fire Department, told the newspaper his members could support Mr. Kanjorksi in 2010 providing several issues are first resolved between the parties. His members have been unhappy with Mr. Kanjorski in the past because of his support for Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty. Mr. Doherty failed to negotiate for a new labor agreement with Local 60 during the nine years he served as Mayor of Scranton.

Ken Klinkel, President of the United Auto Workers of America (UAW) Union Local 1193 in Eynon, stated Mr. Kanjorski showed his support for union auto workers by supporting loans to the American auto markers in 2009. The loans saved thousands of auto workers jobs at General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. GM has since repaid the loans.

Unionists, Environmentalists, Progressives Need to Take Over Democratic Party

It is time to purge the corporatists from the Democratic power structure. The real work of the Democratic Party is done by grassroots activists. These activists are the Democratic Party. They should run it at every level.

This conclusion has become clear in the aftermath of tainted Blanche Lincoln primary victory in Arkansas. It took massive voter disenfranchisement and the intervention of both former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama for Lincoln to squeak out a victory.

Obama still has not learned that the Obama Movement that put him in the White House was not really about Obama. It was about a set of progressive policies that constituted “change we can believe in.”

Former President Clinton started the process of going Republican-lite and selling out parts of the Democratic base around specific policy issues. Union members and American workers were shafted by the false promises surrounding “so-called free trade deals.” Poor Americans really suffered from some aspects of his welfare reform ideas. Deregulation helped create media consolidation that gave the corporations excessive control of public policy discussions and American politics.

Hilary Clinton was the driving force behind the most progressive policy goal of the Clinton Presidency which was the failed attempt at healthcare reform. America would have been a much better place if she had been President instead of Bill Clinton. One note of caution in her background was her position at one point on the Wal-Mart Board but her overall political history is solidly progressive.

President Clinton was not a bad on corporate issues as Reagan or both of the Bushes but he was pretty bad for a Democrat. He was not as bad as Senator Blanche Lincoln. Lincoln received more campaign money from Big Oil than any other Senator regardless of political party. She was the leading force in blocking the public option in healthcare reform.

Blanche Lincoln stopped the Employee Free Choice Act from even getting debated on the floor of the US Senate. She has a terrible record on trade policy, environmental protections, tax policy and deregulation. Blanche Lincoln has proven herself the most “corporatist” Senator in the relatively small “corporatist” wing of the Democratic Party.

Union activists, progressives and environmentalists are the majority of foot soldiers that go to battle for Democratic candidates at every level in every community of the nation. Along with civil rights leaders, civil libertarians, peace activists and the progressive Internet community, these activists give more money to elect Democrats than every corporation combined.

The corporations make the big donations and control the mainstream media but their values are really more Republican than Democratic. They value money over people. They value money over traditional American values. They value money over American patriotism. They value money over ethics, honesty and decency. Their values are directly at odds with the core values of the Democratic base.

We need to return to the values of FDR and the New Deal. We need to capture every Democratic Party office and drive out the corporatists. The Democratic Party is a much better institution because we drove out the Southern racist faction (and the northern one) and we need to do the same with the corporatists.

Obama needs to decide if he is going to the leader of this effort or an obstacle. If he elects to be an obstacle, he will not get a second term. If he joins in this populist effort, he might go down in history as an equal to our greatest American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

With or without Obama, we need to take over every local Democratic Committee, every Democratic club and elect our “real Democrats” to public office. Government is not our enemy as long as it has not been captured by corporations. The US Constitution says we “the people” are the government. Corporations are not people despite the radical Right Wing Supreme Court rulings.

The Tea Party crowd has been captured and in some cases created by corporate forces. They cannot be the populist engine for “change you can believe in” but you and your friends can be that populist engine. Get angry, get active and fight corporatism regardless of political party.

Written by Stephen Crockett (host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com and Editor of Mid-Atlantic Labor.com http://www.midatlanticlabor.com) . Mail: 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. Email: demlabor@aol.com. Phone: 443-907-2367.

Feel free to publish without prior approval.

June 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Organized labor will again be involved in attempt to unseat Charlie Dent

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

LEHIGH VALLEY, May 19th- Incumbent Lehigh Valley Republican House of Representatives (15th Legislative District) Charlie Dent will be challenged by labor supported Democratic party nominee Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and Independent Jake Towne in the November election.

On May 18th, Mr. Dent defeated fellow Republican Matt Benol while Mr. Callahan had no challengers for the Democratic nomination.

Mr. Callahan is expected to receive the majority or all of the support of the labor community. Mr. Dent is seeking a fourth two-year term in representing the Lehigh Valley in Washington DC. and his labor voting record has decreased each term since first being elected.

The labor community including unions of the Building and Construction Trades Council; the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); public sector unions; and industrial unions; have held fundraising events for Mr. Callahan’s campaign since late 2009.

The 15th Legislative District has been held by a Republican for six consecutive terms.

Former Lehigh Valley Republican Congressman Patrick Toomey is the GOP nominee for the Pennsylvania United States Senate race. The Democratic nominee is Joe Sestak.

Joe Sestak defeats Arlen Specter with help of several labor unions

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

LEHIGH VALLEY, May 25th- Democratic House of Representatives (7th Legislative District) Joe Sestak defeated five-term Pennsylvania United States Senator Arlen Specter by approximately 8 percentage points on May 18th. Mr. Sestak will face Republican candidate former Lehigh Valley Congressman (15th Legislative District) Pat Toomey.

Mr. Specter received the support of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in Harrisburg which reached-out to union members throughout Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley, requesting they vote for Mr. Specter.

However, not all of the labor community requested for their members to vote for Mr. Specter.

Wendell Young, President of the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1776, which has approximately 25,000 members throughout Southeastern, Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania, supported Mr. Sestak and believed he would be better for the labor community than Senator Specter.

Mr. Young told the newspaper he lives within the 7th Legislative District and has known Mr. Sestak for many years and has supported the labor community while serving in Washington.

According to information provided by Mr. Young, Mr. Sestak was an original co-sponsor of EFCAct that will safeguard the right to organize, protect workers from intimidation, and ensure the ability to secure a fair and timely contract. Mr. Specter opposed the legislation.

Mr. Sestak states he believes stronger worker health and welfare laws are needed that protect employees from unsafe conditions. He cited 5,800 died in the workplace in 2006, 16 every day and Pennsylvania is one of 26 states in the nation with no state Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

Jerry Green, President of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Union Local 2599 in Bethlehem, supported Mr. Sestak despite the USWA International Union not endorsing either candidate.

“The Steelworkers Rapid Response team struck together and we voted the right guy in for labor. Were we a driving force? How many were angry at Arlen Specter for not supporting EFCAct? I was,” said Mr. Green.

Mr. Green stated his union held a rally for Mr. Sestak at the USW building on East Lehigh Street in Bethlehem on May 14th. “Joe is our friend and a friend of labor. His record proves that. Joe wanted to tell us his story. Arlen Specter never did and couldn’t care less and never bothered to ask to speak at our building,” added Mr. Green.

Local 2599 represents approximately 1,500 workers throughout the Lehigh Valley which includes 19 separate units of employees including workers of the Victaulic Company of America.

June 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Despite AFL-CIO support majority of union members did not vote for Arlen Specter

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, May 25th- Pennsylvania United States Senator Arlen Specter’s first attempt to win as a Democrat failed on Primary Day May 18th. The majority of union members voted for his opponent despite the endorsement of the Pennsylvania American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Recently retired labor federation President William George stated prior to the election that Senator Specter “is the strongest advocate and supporter for good jobs, fair trade policies, workers’ rights, and quality, affordable health care for all.”

The United States House of Representatives (7th Legislative District) Joe Sestak defeated Mr. Specter in his attempt to gain a sixth six-year term as Senator.

According to a story published in newspapers throughout Pennsylvania and written by the Associated Press, despite the AFL-CIO conducting phone banks and the canvassing of union members, including in the Lehigh Valley, approximately 55 percent of union members voted to support Mr. Sestak.

The Associated Press gathered the information by conducted a poll of union members after voting on May 18th.

Meanwhile, Congressman Sestak’s labor voting record was much higher than Mr. Specter during the six years he served in Washington while representing the 7th Legislative District

This Sestak job offer thing is a fake scandal. Pure BS designed to take the focus off Toomey. The corporate candidate Toomey would be really hurt considering everything corporations have been doing recently to destroy the American Dream. The Wall Street financial meltdown, oil destroying the Gulf of Mexico, bad trade deals destroying American jobs, crushing national debt created by tax breaks for corporations and corporate executives, etc., etc. Toomey supported all these policies and continues pushing more of the same.

We need to write letters to the Editor, blog and call talk shows to expose this ploy. Please do your part and share this message everywhere. The Pennsylvania Senate race is important!

Stephen Crockett

Host, Democratic Talk Radio
Editor, Mid-Atlantic Labor.com

MAJOR LABOR UNIONS ENDORSE ROGER MANNO FOR STATE SENATE

Press Release

Silver Spring, MD - The Washington D.C. Building and Construction Trades Council (WDCBCTC), and Communications Workers of America have announced early strong endorsements for Roger Manno, candidate for Maryland State Senate in the 19th District.

Appearing with Manno at his May 16th State Senate kickoff, WDCBCTC Executive Secretary and Treasurer Vance Ayres, representing 25,000 workers, stated “If we had more folks like Roger Manno in Annapolis, there wouldn’t be all the problems with people losing their houses, who have no health care. I know a lot of legislators. I know good legislators, and I know great legislators. He’s one of the great ones, and so we, the Washington DC-region building trades, formally endorse, Roger Manno.”

Echoing these statements, Ron Collins, Vice President of CWA District 2 said “Communication Workers of America is pleased to announce our strong, early endorsement of Roger Manno for the Maryland State Senate. While many legislators simply vote the right way on labor issues, Roger has tirelessly carried the water and walked the walk for workers in the State of Maryland. The 76 locals and 35,000 members of CWA District 2 stand united in our commitment to ensure that he is our next State Senator.”

Thanking WDCBCTC, and CWA for their early endorsements, Manno stated “I am honored to stand with these important AFL-CIO labor unions in their daily fight for decent wages, reasonable working conditions and comprehensive health care for the hard working families in our communities. By working together to build broad coalitions we can ensure that there are no compromises when it comes to the working families of Maryland. Today’s endorsements are a recognition that Leadership takes teamwork and I look forward to continuing this fight together.”

For more information or to join the Team, please visit www.rogermanno.com.

Joe Sestak Wins Pennsylvania Primary, with Plenty of Labor Support on His Side

UFCW members of UFCW Locals 23 and 1776 celebrated last night as the candidate that they worked for, Joe Sestak, surged to victory against incumbent Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter.

The New York Times reports that organized labor suffered a defeat when Sestak won last night, but for Pennsylvania UFCW members, BAC Local 1-PA members, USW 10-1 members, three APWU locals’ members, and other labor groups and organizations, that’s just plain wrong. Sure, some labor organizations endorsed Senator Specter, but others knew all along that Sestak was their man–the candidate for working families in Pennsylvania.

Kevin Kilroy, Political Director of UFCW Local 23, had this to say about the UFCW’s decision to endorse Sestak:

“Voters are tired of lukewarm politicians who are unresponsive to the needs of working families. Sestak has a proven record of getting things done in the House of Representatives. He seems to come down on the side of the average work a day person who is struggling to make ends meet. I think that the voters responded to him in kind.”

And UFCW Local 1776 put out this statement:

“Last night’s win by Joe Sestak was a great victory for the working men and women of Pennsylvania. Local 1776 and the entire UFCW family are proud to be a large part of his victory.

Our members told us loudly and clearly that it was time for a change in the US Senate. They know Joe Sestak. They like him and they trust him. They know that he shares our values and that we can count on him to stand up for what he believes in.

We decided to stand with Joe early in his campaign, and our membership supported us every step of the way. He’s going to be a great candidate in November against the anti-labor Pat Toomey. We look forward to working with Joe on a working families agenda that includes job creation and the Employee Free Choice Act.’

According to many UFCW, BAC, USW, and APWU members, other labor supporters, and working families across Pennsylvania, the right person for the job won last night. Now all of labor will certainly get behind him and help him win that Senate seat this fall.

Posted by Amber Sparks, UFCW on their Blog http://ufcw.blogspot.com/2010/05/ufcw-endorsed-candidate-joe-sestak-wins.html

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EDITOR’S NOTE: I highly encourage readers to visit the UFCW website and sign up for their newsletter. It is very well done and is full of useful information!

MAY 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Labor community divided in the Pennsylvania Senate races

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, May 1st- The labor community is divided with their support for the candidates seeking to replace Raphael Musto and Robert Mellow in the Pennsylvania Senate. Mr. Musto (Democrat-14th Legislative District) and Mr. Mellow (Democrat-22nd Legislative District) are retiring from the General Assembly in 2010.

There are six Democratic candidates seeking to replace Mr. Mellow including: Jim Wansacz, Chris Phillips, Charles Volpe, Joe Corcoran, John Blake and Chris Doherty.

The 22nd Legislative District includes Lackawanna, part of Monroe and part of Luzerne Counties. The 14th Legislative District includes part of Luzerne, part of Monroe and part of Carbon Counties.

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Union District Council 21 endorsed Mr. Wansacz. John Gatto, Assistant Business Manager of District Council 21 told the newspaper the membership of his union believes if elected Mr. Wansacz would support the labor community. Jim Wansacz is currently the Pennsylvania House of Representative for the 114th Legislative District.

Chris Phillips, a Scranton School Director, was endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Union Local 60, which represents the Fire Department of Scranton.

Charles Volpe, a local businessman, is being supported by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union Local 229 in Scranton.

According to Robert Weber, Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Local 229, Mr. Volpe has expressed while meeting with him a strong support of unions’ and workers’ rights. “Chuck Volpe’s support of Unions’ and Workers’ Rights will be a strong voice which is desperately needed at the State and Local political levels,” stated Mr. Weber.

Joe Corcoran was endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union District Council 87.

Chris Doherty is being supported by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Local 81 in Scranton. Mr. Doherty is the Mayor of Scranton.

There are two Democratic candidates seeking to replace Mr. Musto. House of Representative John Yudichak (119th Legislative District) and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union Local 401 in Wilkes-Barre is supporting Mr. Leighton.

The International Association of Bridge, Structural Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union Local 489 endorsed John Yudichak.

APRIL 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Candidate for Senate Joe Sestak supported by UFCW Union

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, March 26th- Wendell Young, President of the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1776, which has approximately 25,000 members throughout Southeastern, Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania, believes United States House of Representative Joe Sestak (Democrat-7th Legislative District) would be better for the labor community than incumbent United States Senator Arlen Specter. Mr. Sestak is challenging Mr. Specter in the May 18th Primary Election for the Democratic Party nomination. The winner will likely face former conservative Republican House of Representative (15th Legislative District) Pat Toomey in the fall election.

“Joe Sestak would be a better Senator for us than Arlen Specter. While a member of the Republican party, Mr. Specter voted 85 percent of the time with George Bush,” said Mr. Young.

Mr. Young told the newspaper he lives within the 7th Legislative District and has known Mr. Sestak for many years and he has supported the labor community while serving in Washington. “Local 1776 plus the International Union has endorsed Joe Sestak.”

“During his time in Congress he has one of the highest labor voting records. He supported the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCAct) before most Democrats did. I’m calling on labor people to support Mr. Sestak. He did not support the bad trade deals that have cost millions of Americans their jobs,” said Mr. Young.

According to information provided by Mr. Young, Mr. Sestak was an original co-sponsor of EFCAct that will safeguard the right to organize, protect workers from intimidation, and ensure the ability to secure a fair and timely contract. Mr. Specter opposes the legislation.

Mr. Sestak states he believes stronger worker health and welfare laws are needed that protect employees from unsafe conditions. He cited 5,800 died in the workplace in 2006, 16 every day and Pennsylvania is one of 26 states in the nation with no state Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) labor federation in Harrisburg announced on March 30th, Mr. Specter has been endorsed over Mr. Sestak.

“In our opinion Senator Arlen Specter is the strongest advocate and supporter for good jobs, fair trade policies, workers’ rights and quality affordable health care for all. He is a proven leader who has stood with working families when the chips are down, especially his key role in passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRAct) of 2009 which has protected jobs, helped unemployed workers, and prevented this nation from sinking into another great depression,” stated Bill George, President of the labor organization.

It was the third time Senator Specter was endorsed by the labor federation which requires two-thirds majority of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council.

Lessons for Obama from the Arkansas and Pennsylvania Democratic Primaries

The Obama White House hopefully will learn something about Obama 2008 winning coalition from the 2010 Democratic Primary Elections in Arkansas and Pennsylvania. The media needs to learn this same basic lesson. The Obama Movement was never just about Obama. It was about change… real change. While Obama gives a great speech and the Obama loves to hear him talk, they want real actions that they can believe in and they want it now!

Of course, the Obama movement is not really radical. However, it does want to see fundamental reforms in our political and economic system. The Obama White House has been unwilling to get out in front of the Obama Movement on almost every issue. Conservative and corporate forces within the Obama White House have effectively held back the pace of reforms and often have completely defeated them. The Obama Movement wants more! If they do not get more and soon then Obama will no longer be the leader of the Obama Movement.

Sestak won in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate race because labor activists and the local Democratic Party leaders did not follow Obama’s endorsement of Specter although their top leadership did. The grassroots refused. They were joined by some unions and essentially all progressive organizations at every level. Minority voters simply did not vote in large numbers. The Obama Movement effectively backed Sestak or stayed home for the most part. Obama cannot take the Obama Movement down paths outside their core values.

Specter was not the kind of leader the Obama Movement wanted. Sestak was and is a different story.

Sestak loves labor. Specter needed labor. The grassroots of the labor movement understood the difference.

Sestak wants to end needless wars and wants to curb excessive corporate power. He is certainly not anti-business but he does seem more focused on Main Street than serving Wall Street. The Republican in the race, Pat Toomey, is widely considered a complete tool of Wall Street and with good reason. Toomey effectively ran the Right Wing billionaires political entity known as the Club for Growth. He will not look good running against a tough military man with a devotion to mainstream middle class values.

I believe that Specter would have lost to Toomey. I believe Sestak will soundly defeat Toomey! Sestak is both a realist and an economic populist. He is honest and hardworking almost to a fault. The contrast with Toomey will be very clear in November.

Blanche Lincoln has voted with the Republicans often. She has blocked important legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act. Only since getting an effective Democratic challenger did she start voting more often for the kind of change desired by the Obama Movement.

Lincoln did not deserve the support of Obama based on her voting record. She still does not deserve his support in the run-off. Obama’s core supporters will hold this misplaced support against Obama for a long time to come.

Obama should have stayed out of the race in both Pennsylvania and Arkansas. The American people like and respect Obama but want Obama to act more aggressively to check excessive corporate power. Opposing progressive or reform Democratic challengers only makes Obama weaker.

The Obama Movement activists want Obama to aggressively push legislation to limit the damage from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Obama should push legislation requiring that all shareholders should have to approve in a vote before any money from the corporate treasury gets spent on elections or politics. Corporate executives should not be able spend corporate funds on politics if even one shareholder disagrees. The executives are spending other people’s money.

All publicly traded corporations should be required to give at least 20% of the Board of Director seats to elected representatives of their employees. Obama should push that legislation.

Obama should get out and start a nationwide voter education effort to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It is time to make unionization elections truly democratic instead of jokes rigged in favor of corporations. Workers need a much bigger say in the economy and a bigger slice of the economic pie. Obama should support legislative limits on corporate executive salaries. Corporate executives should be removed completely from the election process for members of the Board of Directors.

Obama should push legislation to break up the largest banks, modify or repeal unfair “so-called free trade deals”, hold oil companies fully responsible for economic damages from oil spills without financial limits, appoint more aggressive regulators and judges, tax imports and start repealing decades of tax breaks for international corporations.

Every hint of going “corporate Republican-lite” upsets the Obama Movement. Obama needs to remember his base. Obama should look hard at making some staff changes and policy shifts in a more Democratic reform direction. He should compromise less with his enemies and remember his real friends.

The media should stop drinking the Republican Right “tea” kool-aid! The Tea Party Republicans are not economic populists nor anti-corporate. If Obama learns the lesson of these two elections, he can lead the Democratic Party in a real economic populist reform direction. This is what the Obama Movement wants and is the key to victory in 2010.

Written by Stephen Crockett (host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com and Editor of Mid-Atlantic Labor.com http://www.midatlanticlabor.com) . Mail: 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. Phone: 443-907-2367. Email: demlabor@aol.com.

Feel free to publish or reprint at no charge without prior approval.

Please join Richard, Maggie and Alexandra on Richard’s Three County Announcement Tour for State Auditor

Richard Korn for State Auditor Three County Announcement Tour (Sussex)

Saturday, May 22nd 12:00 noon

The Brick Hotel on the Circle

Eighteen The Circle

Georgetown, Delaware 19947

Richard Korn for State Auditor Three County Announcement Tour (Kent)

Saturday, May 22nd 2:30pm

Belmont Hall State Conference Center‎
512 South Dupont Boulevard (new Route 13)
Smyrna, DE 19977

Richard Korn for State Auditor Three County Announcement Tour (New Castle)

Sunday, May 23rd 4:00pm

Sheetmetal Workers Local 19 Union Hall

911 New Road (Next to Corpus Christi Elementary School in Elsmere)

Wilmington, DE 19805

Media Advisory

Saidel for Lt. Governor Campaign

May 11, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Marty Marks 412.352.0317

DEMOCRATIC FRONTRUNNER FOR LT. GOVERNOR IN SCRANTON TO TAKE ISSUE WITH CORBETT’S STAND AGAINST ACCEPTING STIMULUS MONEY

Former Philadelphia Controller Jonathan Saidel to Speak at Labor Rally on Republican Governor Candidate’s Tea Party Pandering

Scranton, Pa – On Wednesday, May 12 at 5:00pm, Democratic Candidate Jonathan A. Saidel will appear at a labor rally at the Lackawanna County Courthouse to take on Republican Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett for pandering to the right and putting Pennsylvania jobs at risk.

“First he joined the tea baggers opposing healthcare reform and now he is pushing their bitter brew against federal stimulus assistance”, Saidel said. “Clearly this guy will say anything the rightwing of his party wants to hear, even it means giving up millions of dollars intended to put Pennsylvanian’s back to work,” according to Saidel.

Saidel will be joining workers from a variety of labor unions for the rally. He is endorsed by the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council and the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters.

Jonathan Saidel will be available for interviews before and after the event, on site and remotely. To arrange an interview, call Marty Marks at 412.3562.0317.

Who: Jonathan A. Saidel, Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor; local labor leaders and members; local elected Democratic officials.

What: Labor Rally

Where: In front of John Mitchell Labor Memorial Statue, Lackawanna County Courthouse, Scranton, PA

When: Wednesday, May 12th at 5:00pm

April 26, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Marty Marks 412.352.0317

SAIDEL PICKS UP ANOTHER MAJOR UNION ENDORSEMENT

Workers United Back Former Controller for Lt. Governor

Philadelphia, PA - The Philadelphia Joint Board of Workers United today announced its endorsement of Jonathan A. Saidel for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor. Workers United represents over 7000 hotel, gaming, food service, commercial laundry, light manufacturing, and retail workers in the Philadelphia region, approximately 85% of who live in the City of Philadelphia.

“Jonathan Saidel has made our fight for workers rights and workplace justice his fight for more than twenty years”, Fox said. “We are proud to endorse Jonathan and will do all we can to see he is elected,” Fox declared.

Saidel, the endorsed State Democratic Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor is also endorsed by the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. To date every state and regional union making an endorsement in the Lt. Governor’s race has backed Saidel.

“I am both humbled and honored to have won the support of the men and women of Workers United. We have stood together time and time again in the struggle for a better life for Pennsylvania’s working families. I hope the voters will judge me by the company I keep,” Saidel said.

Saidel’s endorsements are listed on his website at www.Saidel2010.com .