Unions

Here's something you don't see every day: a union negotiating a new contract that allows its Muslim members to replace the day they get off for Labor Day with one of their own holy days.

After all, since 1894, Labor Day has been a federal holiday designated to celebrate "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." As such, you would expect a labor union to hold this day in extremely high esteem.

Yet, according to the Shelbyville Times Gazette (Tennessee), some things are more important than Labor Day to at least one of America's unions (h/t NBer motherbelt):

General Motors has been in business since 1897, but there are fears now propagated in the media that the longtime American icon faces an uncertain future.

Brian Williams raised the possibility of General Motors (NYSE:GM) going out of business on the June 26 "NBC Nightly News" to Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's "Mad Money."

"[J]im, I know you talk about this, think about this everyday for a living and have a formula regarding this," Williams said. "But first, what's going on out there? I heard one analyst today said, ‘GM will go out of business,' though I know a lot of people disagree with that and it's a scary thought."

You're a member of the MSM and a Barack Obama backer. But I repeat myself. More specifically, you're Chris Matthews. What better way to promote your guy's candidacy than to claim that Republicans would really rather run against Hillary?

That's just what the Hardball host did on this afternoon's show. Here's his exchange with the–in my opinion–very impressive Republican strategist Todd Harris, who worked for McCain in 2000, and with Dem strategist Michael Feldman.

View video here.

If you didn't know any better, you might think ABC correspondent Lisa Stark has a personal vendetta against airline mergers.

For the second consecutive night, Stark gave viewers every reason to oppose a merger between Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) on the April 15 "World News with Charles Gibson." This time it came in the form of opposition on Capitol Hill.

"But there was swift opposition," ABC correspondent Lisa Stark said. "A powerful lawmaker from Minnesota, where Northwest is based, called it one of the worst developments in aviation history."

The mainstream media seems all too willing to let left-wing labor groups affiliated with the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) get away with dressing up their blatant efforts to thwart the will of the people. Let every vote be counted and everyone’s opinion be heard, say the left, unless their favorite government-enforced labor union privileges are under attack. Then, all bets are off. *(It has come to our attention via fax, that BISC was issued a cease in desist letter on March 27, for their unauthorized use of Kessler International trademark for the use of "Fraudbusters." )

Take the case of the Denver Post’s April 9 report on a legal challenge brought by the Colorado AFL-CIO alleging ballot fraud and unreported financial dealings on the part of the organizers of a state right-to-work ballot initiative. Incredibly, Mike Cerbo, executive director for the Colorado AFL-CIO defends the suit to the Rocky Mountain News by asking "We want to know who we are dealing with… [a]nd where are they getting their money? ... That's why we have campaign finance laws." And the suit comes right on the heels of the right-to-work group’s recent announcement it has gathered nearly double the signatures necessary to get its petition on the November ballot. But what the Denver media are missing in their reporting of the controversy is that the AFL-CIO and labor ally United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCWU) are part of an ongoing state by state effort to thwart popular conservative and libertarian ballot initiatives by any means necessary.

OK, folks, grab the popcorn and settle in for this hilarious tale of union against union. It's an epic battle of lies, underhandedness, brute force, and sweetheart deals that pits the California Nurses Association (CNA) against the Services Employees International Union (SEIU). The two unions are at each other's throats for the prize of representing employees in the Catholic hospitals of the state of Ohio.

Oh, it’s a battle royal, all right. But for the most part the MSM is ignoring this story. One wonders why the media isn’t too interested in it? It has everything the media generally loves. It has back room deals, lies, and strong words against each other on every side of the issue, conflict galore. But I suppose this fight between unions makes them both look bad, so the MSM isn’t interested. After all, the media’s pro-union agenda takes a hit in reporting THIS one, for sure.

The New York Times reported Democratic NY state assemblyman Brian McLaughlin pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges on Friday. As usual, no party identification in the headline, picture, caption or article, but there's a twist in this March 8 piece. The NYT also didn't report that he was in office at the time the crimes were committed.

In the lede, the Times described McLaughlin as the “former head of the nation’s biggest municipal labor council,” without noting his political office.

Continuing the whitewash, the NYT buried and downplayed the story's juicy details. While in office, McLaughlin stole a total of $2.2 million from little leaguers, labor unions, his political club and the state of New York. He used the funds to buy cars for his wife and mistress and, bizarrely, forced union members to kill rats in his basement, dog sit and hang Christmas lights without pay. The only mention of the Dem's political career was an unclear second paragraph (all bold mine):

Will the Writers Guild of America strike end soon? Possibly:

Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood’s striking writers and production companies have eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, which could lead to a tentative agreement as early as next week, according to people who were briefed on the situation but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.

A deal would end a crippling writers strike that is now entering its fourth month.

The agreement may come without renewed formal negotiations between the television and movie writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, though both sides still need to agree on specific language of key provisions.

Journalists often fret about Big Business. Yet their coverage leans so pro-union that they won't give the business side of the story - even when they ARE the business.

The writers' strike has cost the networks millions in lost ad revenue from the lack of new primetime and late-night shows. But now that late night lives again, the coverage is all about "awareness" of the writers' guild and the strike.

Once the late-night comedy shows returned January 2, a new controversy arose: guests who dared to cross the picket line to appear on the writer-less shows. One of those was Baptist preacher and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

"I don't think Jesus would cross the picket line, no, I'm almost positive Jesus would be on our side," one striking writer said to CBS's January 3 "Early Show."

Next time you order pizza to be delivered, you better hope the pizzeria you’re ordering from is a union workplace, unless you want an extra ingredient on your pie.

That might be your mindset after seeing the August 27 segment on MSNBC about the “My Bad Boss” contest conducted by Working America, an arm of the AFL-CIO that actively promotes union ideals in non-union workplaces.

In something that more closely resembled a television commercial for unions than a news report, anchor David Shuster actually outdid the union’s “My Bad Boss” contest with a comment about one pregnant employee putting “placenta” on pizza because her boss wouldn’t let her go to the hospital.