In what is being reported as a surprise move, the 40,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that they have formally ended their association with the AFL-CIO, one of the nation's largest private sector unions. The Longshoremen citied Obamacare and immigration reform as two important causes of their disaffiliation. In an August 29 letter to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, ILWU President Robert McEllrath cited quite a list of grievances as reasons for the dissolution of their affiliation, but prominent among them was the AFL-CIO's support of Obamare. "We feel the Federation has done a great disservice to the labor movement and all working people by going along to get along," McEllrath wrote in the letter to Trumka. The ILWU President made it clear they are for a single-payer, nationalized healthcare policy and are upset with the AFL-CIO for going along with Obama on the confiscatory tax on their "Cadillac" healthcare plan. The Longshoreman leader said, "President Obama ran on a platform that he would not tax medical plans and at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention, you stated that labor would not stand for a tax on our benefits." But, regardless of that promise, the President has pushed for just such a tax and Trumka and the AFL-CIO bowed to political pressure lining up behind Obama's tax on those plans. McEllrath also went on to say that they support stronger immigration reform than the AFL-CIO is supporting. One ILWU committeeman was even harsher on both the AFL-CIO and the President. ILWU Coast Committeeman Leal Sundet criticized the AFL-CIO telling LaborNotes.com that Trumka was marching "in lockstep" with Obama both on the "Cadillac healthcare tax" as well as immigration. Sundet slammed Obama's immigration plan saying it is "designed to give [only] highly-paid workers a real path to citizenship." Private sector unions have fallen to an all time low participation rate in the US workforce. Unionized workers now account for only 11.3 percent of the US workforce. http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Govern...bamacare-40-000-Longshoremen-Quit-the-AFL-CIO That's going to sting a bit.
If the union cabal falls apart might Obama be the last Democratic President. (I use the term President in a very light way) With out Union money and electioneering there is no Democratic party.
Lol! Ocommunist not only tries to harm free America, he is also imploding the democraps. Being rid if Dems would sure be a start.
Union membership numbers are unchanged, the ILWU think Obama and the AFL-CIO are not liberal enough, so you think they'll start voting for reps??
Hahahahaha. Unions taking it in the ass from the lying incompetent socialist they all rallied for. Fucking Awesome.
yeah the totals are unchanged... its just happens to be that this union broke away from their parent union because they realize the leftist cabal is anti people who earn a living. now there is daylight... apparently there are plenty of people who are not represented by the leaders of the democrats either. its time the people who pay for this govt to be represented in this govt.
Sort of a "deja vu" moment. The splintering of the Republican party really materialized in the second term of Dubya...same thing could potentially take place in the next few years.
Actually the democrats are now the party of the unemployed, so they are jettisoning the unions. Sucks to be them.