John Edwards at AFSCME
Submitted by Robert P. on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 9:49pm
A big, fat hat-tip to NCDEM, who captured these videos of John Edwards at the AFSCME forum in Carson City, Nevada. I watched almost all of these speeches live and what I was most struck by was:
- That labor is back in the driver seat of an election.
- How calm and straight-forward John Edwards remains in his appearances, no candidate-speak still.
- Tom Vilsack being much better on the stump than I expected.
- Hillary Clinton's speech, but not her Q&A, being incredibly stilted.
So, anyway, this was an interesting event because it put the dems on the same stage. Makes me thirst for that first debate in South Carolina on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 7:00Pm.
The videos are after the break.
Edwards on Bill Maher
As long as I'm pimping interviews, Bill Maher asks the best questions. His question about Bill Clinton rocked.
Where are the candidates?
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Great job
by Edwards. Wish I could see the video by the others.
Draft Brad Miller -- NC Sen ActBlue :::Petition
"Keep the Faith"
I thought this was a great interview
n/t
Do good. Be nice. Have fun.
Unions
Edwards: "...ban the hiring of permanent replacement workers."
So, workers should have all the freedom to come and go as they please, but a business cannot choose who to hire and how long they work for them?
If you want to strike, you take the risk of being replaced.
Sure, most people think they are irreplacable at their jobs, but what if everyone KNEW they couldn't be replaced? That sure is a non-motivator for excellence and productivity. Sounds like France.
Unions are an equalizing force
Unions give workers power to truly negotiate with management, in ways that are impossible for individual workers. The tool that gives them that power is the ability to stop work, to strike. If the business can simply hire replacement workers when the union goes on strike, that completely negates the usefulness of that tool.
Yes, in the absence of a labor dispute, management should be able to choose who to hire and for how long, just as workers have the right to quit whenever they want. JRE is not saying workers can never be replaced. He is saying that in the event of a labor dispute, management should not be able to neutralize labor's weapon of last resort.
Weapon of last resort
An employee's weapon of last resort is the same as the employer's weapon of last resort- termination.I'm sorry, but I think employment should be an agreement between an individual and their employer.
Except for addressing issues such as safety and other working conditions, I think unions are wrong and mostly "help" their leadership.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion,
as I'm entitled to mine. My opinion is that, in the absence of unions, there can be no negotiation between workers and management. Negotiation requires relative equality in power. Individual workers, standing alone, have no power. Individual workers standing together in a union have the power to improve working conditions and employee compensation.
Job Security of Striking Employees
I was also struck by JRE's remark about banning the hiring of replacement workers. I am a fan of organized labor to an extent (good-faith negotiations, etc.), but at some point I also recognize a right of ownership.
In the industry I work in we are beginning to see a tail-wagging-the-dog phenomenon wherein hospitals are opened and then the nurses' union and/or the SEIU set themselves up to (in effect) run it. If I set up any business I want more than a choice between turning it over to my employees or closing it down.
If the employees seriously want the rights of ownership let them also accept the responsibilities and open their own damn hospital.
Scabs
The replacement workers are called scabs. And they are being hired to replace striking workers.
Do employers have the right to fire people? Of course they do. Do they have the right to fire workers because they have gone on strike? I would hope not. Strikes do not occur frivolously. Unions don't strike because the employees think the bathrooms should be painted blue.
They strike for safety violations. They strike for uncompensated overtime. They strike when jobs are still 'outsourced' after negotiating in good faith and taking pay cuts to keep their jobs in the US.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - It pains me deeply that unions are still necessary in this day and age. But they are.
Hillary's speech problem
Here's why her speeches are different from her Q&A:
She has Voice Immodulation Syndrome. Anybody remember Jacob Silj, the Will Ferrell character from SNL a few years back?
War is over if you want it.
So much for MY take.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
2008 Debate Schedule
I believe New Hampshire preempted South Carolina by scheduling the first debate of the Democratic Presidential Primary season at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 5, 2007. The debate is a joint effort between CNN, WMUR and the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Before then, Nevada will host another forum, co-sponsored by SEIU and the Center for American Progress. Health care will be the focus of that forum and it's scheduled to be held on March 24.
"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country." - Robert F. Kennedy
----
There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of the comfortable past which, in fact, never existed. - Robert F. Kennedy
This one-upsmanship really sucks.
Where are the candidates?
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me