-By Warner Todd Huston
Well, it was funny seeing the SEIU and the CNA squaring off for a battle royale, but now things are really getting serious and at this point even a staunch anti-unionist has to say that things are getting out of hand.
The folks over at LaborNotes.org brings us the story of SEIU members being bussed in six, count them SIX, busses to invade and disrupt a conference being attended by California Nurses Association members in Dearborn, Michigan last weekend. Reports are that people were injured as the hundreds of bussed in SEIU members forcibly broke into the conference to disrupt the proceedings.
The ridiculous thing is that the conference was supposed to be about “democracy” in unions put on by Labor Notes Magazine.
This escalation of violence by SEIU members is a disturbing trend that really does make the lie to the claim that SEIU prez Andy Stern is interested in legitimate representation, but is more interested in coercion and intimidation.
Rose Ann DeMoro , president of the CNA told reporters that, “There is an ugly pattern here of physical abuse and tactics of intimidation that have no place in either our labor movement or a civilized society.” She has a point, too.
Deborah Burger of the Huffington Post has a longer report on this unabashed thuggery by the SEIU.
It looks like the SEIU is turning into the lowdown sort of actors that we are used to seeing from union thugs everywhere.
Well, here is the question: will Service Employee International Union president Andy Stern come out and forcefully denounce the violence perpetrated in Michigan in the name of the SEIU? Will Stern denounce the hundreds of SEIU members who were bussed in to disrupt the Labor Notes Magazine conference last week? Apparently, even the AFL-CIO has denounced this violence, but will the SEIU president be man enough to crack down on this nonsense?
One cannot help to be skeptical even if he does, however. The thing is, this was a huge, organized attack on the Labor Notes conference. 6 busses were rented, hundreds of SEIU members were contacted and brought together to get into those 6 busses. This was not just an “accident.” It was planned from the start to be a violent affair.
Obviously Stern has passed from mere political leader to insurrectionist thug here. How far will it go before the SEIU tosses him out on his rear end?
SEIU prez Stern has stacked locals with his own guys and required loyalty oaths. And his supporters have even resorted to stalking and harassing opponents in the CNA.
So, how much undemocratic, unAmerican thuggery can one union take and still claim to be interested in legitimately representing the people they claim as members? And, if the members themselves end up being revealed as supporting this sort on violence, what does that say about them? Are they any different than al Qaeda at that point?
(More info at Jamie Court’s blog at the Huffington Post)
____________
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-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