Break With The Democrats -Built A Labor Party- The Time IS Now!

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AFL-CIO Richard Trumka is trying to navigate a divide in the federation he leads. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post) THE BIG IDEA: Their hearts are for Bernie, but their heads tell them to get behind Hillary. Sanders has undeniably been a more reliable ally for unions on the issues they most care about, especially trade. Though many leaders view Clinton warily, they recognize that she is the overwhelming frontrunner and see her as their best bet to hold the White House. I spent yesterday staking out the AFL-CIO’s executive council meeting in Silver Spring, Md., where the leaders of the 56 unions that make up the federation are gathering behind closed doors to mull a possible endorsement in the Democratic presidential primary. Sanders got an hour to make his pitch Wednesday; Clinton will get an hour this afternoon. Then the union chiefs, who represent 12.5 million workers, will debate privately over what to do. Two-thirds of them need to sign onto any endorsement. That could be difficult at this stage in the nominating fight, especially with Sanders looking as strong as he does right now. Here’s what the tension boils down to: Top political operatives inside organized labor – already reeling from long-term declines in membership – do not want to lose even more juice by backing the quixotic bid of a self-described democratic socialist from Vermont. But others lower in the ranks, and those who have worked closely with Sanders over his 25 years in Congress, are more concerned about ideological purity than anything else. Sanders meeting with the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas this March. (AP Photo/John Locher) Sanders used his time yesterday to argue that he could actually win a general election. Normally, the senator does not speak from notes, but he carried with him the results of a CNN/ORC poll published Sunday that tested head-to-head matchups of him and Clinton versus various Republicans. Among registered voters, he was statistically tied with Jeb Bush, led Donald Trump by 21 points, and beat Scott Walker by 5 points. “Her numbers were a little bit better,” he said. “That to my mind answers the question of electability. Can Bernie Sanders win? Well, we know that CNN is an infallible news organization, don’t we? They never get it wrong. And they’ve told us that, yes, I can win!” Sanders then made the case that he’s stronger on labor’s issues. “I am not aware that there is anybody in the House and Senate that has a stronger voting record for the AFL-CIO,” he said. “It’s a 98 percent lifetime voting record.” Two women epitomize the divide inside labor: Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of Teachers, defended her group’s early endorsement of Clinton. She’s a close friend and ally going back to Hillary’s days as first lady, so the move was not surprising but it drew quiet complaints from other union heavyweights about jumping the gun. “I love Bernie. I think he’s a great guy. As someone who personally believes you have to fight against oligarchs, I love that he uses the word,” Weingarten said. “This is someone who has spent 25 years fighting to change the balance, just like we have fought to change the balance, BUT what we need is to WIN in changing that balance, not just fight.” She knocked her hand on the table for emphasis and repeated the word “WIN” a few more times. AFT President Randi Weingarten (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the 185,000-member National Nurses United, hinted that her group may endorse Sanders sometime in the next month. “He can talk about our issues as well as we can talk about our issues,” she said last night. “Bernie Sanders taught many of us single payer health care … His politics haven’t shifted in 40 years. It’s as though he’s from the labor movement.” Then she described the endorsement choice as “complicated” and “difficult,” saying it is “not black-and-white.” Sanders is headlining a 9 a.m. rally outside the Capitol this morning, cosponsored by her group, to celebrate Medicare’s 50th anniversary. It would be historically unusual for the AFL-CIO to endorse so early. The federation as a whole has only waded early into a competitive Democratic primary twice over the past three decades (for Al Gore in 2000 and Walter Mondale in 1984). Normally, individual unions offer their own endorsements. Then the federation gets behind someone once it is clear who the nominee will be.