Dem Lawmakers to be Ousted Over Union Criticism?

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is no room for disagreement among Democrats. If you are a Democrat that has anything at all critical to say about a union, for instance, they don’t just get mad at you and call you names, they arrange special meetings to throw you out of power! See, this is the more “tolerant” and more “adult” Democrat Party we have all come to know and…uh…. love.

In Prince George’s county, Maryland, a little dispute has arisen between the UF&CW (United Food and Commercial Workers union) Local 400 and two members of the Democratic Central Committee, Vice Chairman Arthur A. Turner Jr. and Chairman Terry Speigner.

At issue is the monkey wrench that the union is trying to throw into plans to build a Wegman’s grocery store in the area. This project will bring a lot of tax money as well as jobs into Prince George’s, but because Wegman’s is non-union, the union is trying to deny the area this new commercial development.

We find the story on Prince George’s Gazette.net.

The dispute began in August when a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union filed an unsuccessful zoning appeal that could have hindered grocer Wegmans from coming to the county. Wegmans, a high-end grocery store chain based in Rochester, N.Y., does not employ union labor.

From here the two aforementioned Democrat Party officials sent out an email saying that they were aghast that the union would try to stop this useful community development.

The dispute is causing a rift between the committee – which handles political appointments, fundraising and other political functions in the Democrat-dominated county – and organized labor, a longtime ally of the party.

So the union thugs went after these two men who are only interested in the economic development of their county.

‘‘Both these gentlemen have damaged their ability to lead the party,” said Mark Federici, executive assistant to the president for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400…

And the AFL-CIO had to get into the act, too:

‘‘Labor unions have done more to create and expand the middle class in Prince George’s County than any other institution, not to mention our years of work to get Democrats elected to office,” AFL-CIO President Joslyn Williams wrote in a letter obtained by The Gazette. ‘‘I am saddened and dismayed you would help spread such anti-union sentiments.”

And now, two guys that have honestly wanted to improve their county’s economic situation find themselves under attack by their own people.

The dispute has sparked discussions about changing leadership. According to central committee members, member James Allen introduced a motion to remove Speigner and Turner.

There are 24 members of the committee, who are elected by party voters. Under the group’s constitution, two-thirds of its 24 members must agree to summarily dismiss an officer.

Yep, no room for disagreement if you’re a Democrat!

(Thanks David Denholm, our reporter in the field, for the tip!)
____________
Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, men’snewsdaily.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a guest on several radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston


Copyright Publius Forum 2001