Labor Unions Paid to Hide Indiana Lawmakers (surprise, surprise), page 1

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Topic started on 21-4-2011 @ 12:22 PM by anon72

National labor unions picked up the tab to hide Democratic lawmakers when they fled Indiana rather than vote on legislation to curb the power of public sector workers, the state political website Capitol & Washington reports.

Finance papers filed by the state’s Democratic party show nearly $140,000 flowed into their coffers as the politicians holed up in hotels in neighboring Illinois. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the public workers’ union AFSCME both gave $50,000, with other unions contributing smaller amounts, the papers show.

This is despite earlier claims that a “groundswell of support” from middle class Indiana workers had resulted in thousands of dollars of small contributions.

The bill from the three-star Urbana Comfort Inn, where the 37 politicians stayed, came to $84,953.70, reports Surber.

Source: www.newsmax.com...

That's right. I wonder why the MSM isn't reporting this major fact of the story!!!

Just another proof-positive fact that Big Labor is in bed with the Dems. And that the whole scheme is being uncovered. The whole Union donations to Dems-for work and other deals. (a.k.a. G.M. & Chrysler-to name just a couple).

Thank God for the internet-giving us the opportunity to obtain news without the MSM bias and covering up.

I sure hope the people see the big picture and take the 2012 election as a chance to rid our gov't of them crooks for good-and put the Unions in their place. It has gotten out of hand and they need to be smacked down. IMO.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:37 PM by jjkenobi

Good luck finding this report on TV at CNN/MSNBC/CBS/ABC/NBC.

Thanks for posting.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:41 PM by lifeissacred

And the issue is what? Their supporters paid for their hotel rooms so that they may protect their rights to lobby for better pay+conditions? Good grief!

Evil unions! lets get rid of them all now and let rich businessmen or power hungry government officials take care of our rights and tell us what we deserve to be paid because we all know they have our best interests ahead of their power and their profits (sarcasm just incase anyone didnt pick it up)

edit on 21-4-2011 by lifeissacred because: ETA

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:41 PM by Lemon.Fresh

Reply to post by jjkenobi

Wait for the claims of Newsmax not being a real news source.

It will come shortly.

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:43 PM by SirMike

reply to post by lifeissacred

The issue is “conflict of interest”.

The politicians support public employee unions with better pay and benefits
The public employee unions support the politicians with campaign cash, votes, and mobilization efforts.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:47 PM by lifeissacred

reply to post by SirMike

Yep, I'm still not seeing the issue here. People exchange their support for policies which benefit them. Isn't that the whole point of democracy? Support that which benefits you, that which you feel will benefit others like you. The same way the richest of the rich tend to lobby for lower taxes, less rights for employees etc. That is modern democracy in a nutshell really. Unions let the poor man do what the rich man does, the difference is theres alot more poor men than there are rich men.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:48 PM by Sinnthia

I do not understand. These union workers are American taxpayers. They are "we the people" and they are supporting their elected officials but that is wrong. Somehow an out of state billionaire funding the opposition is ok? What the hell happened to America? Koch brothers are heros, teachers are evil. Totally makes sense.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:51 PM by SirMike

Originally posted by lifeissacred
reply to post by SirMike

Yep, I'm still not seeing the issue here. People exchange their support for policies which benefit them. Isn't that the whole point of democracy? Support that which benefits you, that which you feel will benefit others like you. The same way the richest of the rich tend to lobby for lower taxes, less rights for employees etc. That is modern democracy in a nutshell really.

Which is exactly why were were founded as a Republic.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 12:55 PM by woodwardjnr

reply to post by Sinnthia

Why people are so keen to prop up the top 2% while advocating a race to the bottom for the rest of society is beyond me. The corporate media have managed to do a hatchet job on normal folks while defending that top 2%, god forbid we ask that top 2% to contribute, instead lets cut services from the most vulnerable in society to pay for the problems,

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 01:04 PM by Misoir

Each of the politicians that decided to run away
from their post in the Indiana government should have
been formally punished. No concessions whatsoever
should have been made until those politicians returned
to the capitol for debate. If they did not have the votes
to halt the ‘right-to-work’ legislation then it should have
been done like any other democratic action would have
and passed.

Making the claim that average workers of Indiana made
these donations yet knowing that it was the labor
unions was an outright lie and once again they should
be punished, if not formally than by the people
themselves. We should expect much more from our
representatives than lies and running away.

However this does not mean that labor unions should be
assaulted, either by us here on ATS or by the Indiana
government. For well over a century labor unions have
played a vital role in the lifting up of the middle class and
the poor along with giving them a well deserved voice
which for too long was controlled mostly by big
businessmen.

I would agree that both big business and big labor have
grown far too large and controlling but to go after one
without tackling the other is an insult to our intelligence
and wrong. It is obvious that labor funds the Democratic
Party almost unanimously, the Republican Party is not
a fan of labor unions or of many labor interests, and that
is not to say the Republicans are against the interests
of the working class however.

Both sides deserve a voice at the table and neither
deserves to be scorned, they (big business and big
labor) should have their roles reduced to a proper level
where they do not have more influence than the average
American citizen can have. Also the heads of the labor
unions should not horde the power and money like they
currently do, it should be dispersed among the
members of said union for a more appropriate
democratic representation.

Enough with vilifying labor and enough with vilifying
business and the rich, it’s time to leave immaturity at
the door. Our nation is in crisis. It is time to grow up
and be the adults we are supposed to be. Invite both
sides to the table, sit down and have an honest and
constructive conversation with them, work out a plan to
get us back on track. It can be done, should be done,
and must be done if we want to see a solvent and
prosperous America again.

Personally I support the right-to-work laws, where you
can never be forced to join in a union if you do not want
to along with other measures. And I respect those who
do not, come to the table and let us discuss how to
solve the differences. This does not mean run away to
Urbana, Illinois away from your job as an elected
representative of the people, hide out while taking funds
from big labor. That was immature and shows that
those Representatives were cowardice and had no
shame in disrespecting the democratic process.

Remember, the ‘golden age of Capitalism’ was the
same period 36% of Americans were in a union.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 01:09 PM by lifeissacred

reply to post by SirMike

Again I'm sorry to answer your point with another question but how does that change the issue? Republic denotes the idea of representative democracy, the politicians who were put up in these hotels were representing the people by delaying an attack on their freedom to protect themselves from the side affects of both government and corporate power.
I'm not saying what those politicians done was right, I'm saying it was entirely justified seeing as the amount of big money backing any anti-union, anti-worker bills would have in America.

edit on 21-4-2011 by lifeissacred because: ETA

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 01:32 PM by anon72

reply to post by lifeissacred

The politicians who were put up in this hotel.....

Were running away from their responsibilities bestowed to them EVERY citizen of the state. Not just the ones they choose to serve.

They were derilict in their duties and should be held accountable.

Remember what Nobama said. "Elections have consequences"

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 01:39 PM by lifeissacred

reply to post by anon72

I'm not arguing that they made the correct decision or that there should be no consequences for them hiding in these hotels, I'm saying they were entirely justified in serving those whom they pledged to defend by slowing down the process of a union busting bill. I'm also defending the right of the unions to protect the politicians whom had pledged to protect their rights as workers.

edit on 21-4-2011 by lifeissacred because: spelling

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 01:55 PM by neo96

being a hoosier none will be getting my vote.

unions are not about "we the people" its the union first the union only and its all about its power.

bunch of cowards they are

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 07:44 PM by TennesseeFan

reply to post by anon72

Big Labor has always been in bed with the Democrats.The Democrats bend over for the Unions on a very regular basis.

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 08:10 PM by Oaktree

reply to post by lifeissacred

the politicians who were put up in these hotels were representing the people by delaying an attack on their freedom to protect themselves from the side affects of both government and corporate power.

I'm in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is a swing state.
I guarantee that there will again come a day when we have a Democrat for a Gov. and a Democrat controlled House/Senate.

I also guarantee that the Republicans have learned from this tactic employed by our Democratic Senators, and will unfortunately employ this tactic against future legislation that they disagree with.

The precedent set by the politicians, whether in WI. or IN. is a disastrous blow to what we have left of Representative Government,
and justifying this tactic simply because one agrees with the outcome is just plain short-sighted, if you ask me.
Here is a very worthwhile read on the subject, regardless of one's political leanings.

The lawmakers in exile call this a defense of democracy.
In truth, it's a step toward anarchy. If it catches on as a practice, it will officially end government by, of and for the people.

What they are saying is that the people no longer have the right to use the ballot box to decide the direction of their government.

That's a rule change our system can't survive.

det news

reply posted on 21-4-2011 @ 10:50 PM by centurion1211

Originally posted by Sinnthia
I do not understand. These union workers are American taxpayers. They are "we the people" and they are supporting their elected officials but that is wrong. Somehow an out of state billionaire funding the opposition is ok? What the hell happened to America? Koch brothers are heros, teachers are evil. Totally makes sense.

Sinnthia,

The issue is that the union workers whose dues paid for this political hackery had no say in how their money was spent. And didn't the OP talk about out of state unions paying for this? So, it wasn't even money from local locals. How exactly is that different than "an out of state billionaire" since they're both out of state and they both have billions of dollars at their disposal?

Why not just let the locals decide it for themselves?

reply posted on 22-4-2011 @ 07:18 AM by anon72

reply to post by centurion1211

Why not just let the locals decide it for themselves?

IMO-on a local level, without outside National influence, the Republicans would win the majority most of the time.

The Democrates can't afford to let local handle anything. The whole Democratic position is based on lies, deception and mis-truths. The more they are in the open and talking about whatever position (at the national level) we find out later that it was all B.S. Example. Obamacare.

At the rate Obama is driving the Democratic Train in the direction he is currently going, it is just a short matter of time before it becomes the Train Wreck the Democratic Party has brought upon itself.

reply posted on 22-4-2011 @ 11:41 AM by Sestias

Originally posted by TennesseeFan
reply to post by anon72

Big Labor has always been in bed with the Democrats.The Democrats bend over for the Unions on a very regular basis.

Yes, the labor unions traditionally support Democrats. Just like Big Oil generally supports the Republicans. In fact, labor unions are a major source of support for the Dems and that has never been any secret. That's why right-wingers like you want to crush the unions. They want to cut out the financial support from under the Democratic Party. They want to turn our country into a Republican-ruled country with no forces to counterbalance their greed and excesses.

I don't hear you complaining about all the cash that flows to the Republican Party from corporations and the uber-rich. Double standard, no?

BTW: I think the Democrats did the right thing to leave the state. Their voices would not have been heard by the Republican majority who would just have steamrollered over them to force their agenda on the people. They didn't have to let that happen to their state while they just sat there and let them do it.

As it turned out, their absence provided a time-out for the people of the state who might not have known what was going down otherwise, and gave them a chance to organize and protest against it.

reply posted on 22-4-2011 @ 12:09 PM by TennesseeFan

reply to post by Sestias

Big Labor is on it's way down,The American public is turning against it. I don't think Gov't employees should be able to Unionize and Strike since WE are paying them!

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