You Expect Republicans To Oppose Pro-Union Legislation... But I Want To Introduce You To 7 Anti-Working Class Democrats

On Thursday night, the House passed Bobby Scott's PRO Act-- Protecting the Right To Organze (H.R. 2474). There were only 5 Republicans-- all in swing districts-- who voted with the Democrats to pass this. There were, however, 7 anti-working class Democrats who crossed the aisle in the other direction, Blue Dogs from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. (It passed 224-194.) These were the so-called Democrats who opposed it:

• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Lucy McBath (New Dem-GA)
• Stephanie Murphy (Blue Dog-FL)
• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)

The state of organized labor is so fucked up and the unions are so in thrall to the Democratic Party establishment that I would bet good money that most of these candidates will be endorsed by unions, regardless of their votes being a direct attack on unions. Right after the vote, Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters issued this statement:

In approving the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the House agreed to restore fairness to the economy at a time when income inequality has stifled the ability of far too many hardworking Americans to earn a decent wage that allows them to support their families.

The PRO Act will strengthen the NLRA so that workers seeking to organize a union and negotiate higher wages and better benefits will be protected. Workers deserve a safe workplace, the ability to stand together and negotiate better working conditions, and to live a middle-class lifestyle.

"Lawmakers have realized what happens when workers are abandoned by their elected officials. The misclassification of workers is on the rise and too many working Americans are falling through the cracks. The Teamsters have witnessed such behavior firsthand as XPO workers across the country try to organize with this union. I'm glad to see a majority of the House are standing with workers by allowing them to join together to negotiate on the job.

So far this cycle, the Teamsters Union has given the DNC 120,000 and the DCCC $105,000. Four of the anti-union members are getting immense financial support from the DCCC-- Cuellar, McBath, Cunningham and Horn. The Teamsters Union has already given substantial amounts to some of the anti-union members-- $10,000 to Horn and $5,000 each to McAdams and Cunningham, as well as $3,500 to West Virginia Republican David McKinley, $2,500 to Long Island Republican Peter King, $2,000 to Illinois Republican Rodney Davis, $1,000 to Omaha Republican Donald Bacon. All 4 Republicans voted against the PRO-Act.

One good thing the Teamsters Union did do though was to write a $5,000 check to Jennifer Cisneros, the progressive Democrat opposing Cuellar in south Texas. She lit into Cuellar for voting against workers, pointing out that he sided "with his big corporate donors over working people in our district once again showing why he’s Trump’s favorite Democrat. Workers deserve the right to negotiate for proper pay, good working conditions, and benefits they deserve. I’m proud to have the support of workers in our district and local unions, who have our back because they know we have theirs." Her campaign let votes know that "Cuellar's vote comes just days after the staunchly anti-labor, pro-Republican U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced a $200,000 ad buy" to support Cuellar primary race. Cuellar was also denied the endorsement of the Texas AFL-CIO last week, which opted to back Cisneros instead. Cuellar's campaign is being financed by anti-union corporate PACs from companies like Amazon, Exxon, Koch Industries, Core Civic, and Raytheon, with less than 1% coming from small-dollar donations.

"Being anti-union is the same as being anti-middle class," Mark Gamba told us, "so it’s no surprise that millionaire Kurt Schrader was one of the few Democrats to vote against the PRO Act yesterday." Gamba is the progressive, pro-worker mayor of Milwaukie, Oregon and he's challenging Schrader for the 5th district congressional seat. "Over the last four decades, neo-liberals like Kurt have worked to whittle down the power of the unions, because they know that if the unions are strong, the middle class is strong and they will be forced to share their amassed power. The PRO Act is simply a long overdue course correction in union law that would hold bad employers accountable for dishonest behavior and allow working folks a fair shot at organizing. This law is more important than ever with the growing gig economy. If we hope to reverse the decades long stagnation in wages, we must support our unions. Schrader’s vote is a clear signal that he neither represents the union-dense 5th district people, nor does he have any intention of working for the benefit of the shrinking middle-class."