dagblog - Comments for "Rift between Environmentalists and Unions Highlights Clinton's Weaknesses"

Oxy,

Bruce Levine — Sun, 22 May 2016 13:22:00 +0000

Oxy,

Infrastructure is something that resonates with the membership in New York, like nothing else.

Both of our anecdotal

moat — Sat, 21 May 2016 19:06:53 +0000

In reply to MOAT - your experiences are

Both of our anecdotal accounts reflect an important difference that is worth making explicit. The perception of what benefits the industry which employs a person is different than whatever that person thinks should be done for the community or world at large.
For instance, I know that I will prosper if the city I work in has a lot of people ready to put money into building things. On the other hand, I know that what gets built and where it is located can degrade the life of my City and her people.
People, as a whole, obviously choose many options on the basis of self interest. But we wouldn't be a society if that was the only criteria under consideration.

Bruce, does the call for

Oxy Mora — Sat, 21 May 2016 15:17:09 +0000

In reply to Having the fortune (or lack

Bruce, does the call for infrastructure spending by Democrats reach the rank and file and does it figure in voting behavior?

Having the fortune (or lack

Bruce Levine — Sat, 21 May 2016 14:16:27 +0000

In reply to Your supposition is that

Having the fortune (or lack thereof) of now working in-house for a NYC building trades union, and without delving into things inappropriately, I can acknowledge extraordinary and disheartening attraction to Donald Trump, causing me to bite my tongue more than I'm accustomed to. And I would say that the notion that more than a percentage in the single digits would vote for Sanders over Trump but not Clinton is beyond reasonableness. It's just not so.

I know that, you know

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 20 May 2016 12:48:03 +0000

In reply to "Democrats' Environmentalist

*I* know that, *you* know that, but somehow it seems to be slipping past a largeish demographic. Conveniently so.

"Democrats' Environmentalist

Oxy Mora — Fri, 20 May 2016 12:29:18 +0000

In reply to I missed your headline,

"Democrats' Environmentalist vs.Union Conundrum---What's New?"

MOAT - your experiences are

HSG — Fri, 20 May 2016 12:17:33 +0000

In reply to I am pretty sure that the

MOAT - your experiences are different from mine. Shortly after I started KRXA 540 AM in Monterey in 2005, I was approached by a union organizer who focused on retail and hospitality workers and the president of the local plasterers union. We agreed that they would do a weekend radio show called Labor Matters which they broadcast for a couple of years until their grant money dried up. The two agreed on most issues - the need to raise the minimum wage and reduce education cost and health care for all stand out in my mind. They disagreed sometimes about immigration. To the best of my recollection, the plasterer who was an American of Hispanic descent was more willing to set limits on immigration and to consider deporting undocumented immigrants.

While my memory may be hazy about their views on immigration, I remember very clearly that they frequently disputed over environmental laws and regulations. The organizer was a staunch environmentalist who always championed clean air and clean water, i.e., cleaning up the Carmel River, limiting growth and development, requiring identified water sources before any construction, keeping new construction away from the Pacific and Monterey Bay. The plasterer argued environmental regulations were hurting building trade workers and were often unnecessary or overbroad.

The New York Times article I cited describes a dynamic I witnessed first hand.

I missed your headline,

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 20 May 2016 05:30:52 +0000

In reply to Rift between Environmentalists and Unions Highlights Clinton's Weaknesses

I missed your headline, "Bernie opposes Keystone XL pipeline, highlights weakness with unions".

Could you repost?

I am pretty sure that the

moat — Fri, 20 May 2016 01:00:41 +0000

In reply to Rift between Environmentalists and Unions Highlights Clinton's Weaknesses

I am pretty sure that the "building trades" don't care about the Keystone pipeline or minimum wage.

I have been in the industry for over thirty years. None of the union trades people I have ever encountered gave a moments thought about pipelines and the minimum wage as having anything to do with their deal. That first link is full of self promotion.

Your supposition is that

Oxy Mora — Thu, 19 May 2016 12:41:05 +0000

In reply to Rift between Environmentalists and Unions Highlights Clinton's Weaknesses

Your supposition is that Building Trade Union members would gravitate to Trump in a general election between Clinton and Trump more so than between Sanders and Trump? I just don't think that's true. When push comes to shove, proposals for infrastructure spending from either candidate would be better for Unions than a Union busting, low debt huckster like Trump.

You may conclude that Sanders proposals are incrementally better for Union workers than are Clinton's (that's your opinion), but pulling the lever is a go/no decision.