Trumka participates in CWA activist call, no mention of Massachusetts public-sector union pushback

The Communication Workers of America held another activist call on Tuesday night. It's special guest was AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Not surprisingly, the topic of the call was the battles between state governments and public-sector union members. "Twenty or more states," CWA President Richard Cohen said, "are under direct attack." Cohen introduced Trumka, who declared, "The governors in Wisconsin and Ohio and a dozen other states have come after working people with the sharpest, the most vicious assaults that we've seen in decades."

Trumka through some demagoguery on the fire, comparing proposed legislation requiring pictured IDs to vote to the racist poll tax of the Jim Crow South.

But during the 46 minute call, there was not a whisper about Massachusetts.

Why is Massachusetts significant?

Massachusetts' Democratic-controlled House voted 111-42 to take away the power of public-sector unions to utilize collective bargaining in regards to negotiating most health care benefits in the Bay State. About the cost-savings legislation: Massachusetts' Democratic governor, Deval Patrick favors some sort of cutbacks in this area.

Public-sector union--I'll use Cohen's favorite word--"resistance" in Ohio, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Florida, Maine, and New Mexico were mentioned during Tuesday's call by the various speakers. Each state has a Republican governor. But not Massachusetts.

Hypocrites.

Click here to listen to the call. Trumka's portion begins at the eight-minute mark.

Related post:

Labor sec'y Hilda Solis participates in union conf call about Wisconsin; CWA prez predicts Walker bill will pass

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