AFL-CIO President Sweeney Is Silent on Ties to War Hawks (PNAC)

[Robbien]

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has declined to explain why his name andtitle appear on a list of supporters of the Project for the New AmericanCentury, an organization whose prime activity is to promote theestablishment of an American global empire through the use of military and economic power. On the list of “people associated” with the Project, besides Sweeney, are: Vice President Dick Cheney, a founder; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and a gallery of neo-conservatives, many from the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The list is “current to Dec. 2004.”

<snip>

Although Sweeney has continuously criticized President George Bush on domestic policies, he has remained conspicuously silent on Iraq and the war on terrorism, even in the final days of the presidential elections, when Bush was especially vulnerable on his handling of the war.

In the two years since the invasion of Iraq, Sweeney has refused to comment on any of Bush’s embarrassing problems: the failure to find weapons of mass destruction; the rising toll of dead and wounded American soldiers; the exorbitant cost of the war, and the lack of an exit plan for the return of our troops.

Moreover, the AFL-CIO, with Sweeney’s apparent approval, has maintained a strict blackout of news and information about Iraq, homeland security and terrorism. Most affiliated unions have followed Sweeney’s example; their leaders have refrained from issuing any statements that criticize Bush’s foreign policy, and their publications act as though the war in Iraq is not an issue for America’s working families.

The news blackout is enforced even within the labor movement. AFL-CIO publications and policy statements by the Executive Council have consistently ignored the anti-war movement and its advocates among members of its affiliated unions. U.S. Labor Against the War reports a list of unions, representing better than a third of the entire AFL-CIO membership, that have passed resolutions calling for an end to the American-led occupation in Iraq and the return home of our soldiers. Yet this is not considered newsworthy by the AFL-CIO’s official magazine, America@Work and other union publications.

http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2174&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

[leftchick]

1. They Are Everywhere....

scary...

~snip~

It is high time for Sweeney to be accountable to the AFL-CIO membership. There are a few straightforward questions that require straightforward answers:

• Does he approve of the Project for a New American Century? If so, why? If not, will he publicly denounce it and ask PNAC to remove his name from its list?

• Why has he maintained membership in the Council of Foreign Relations? What has been his role within the Council? Does he intend to continue his Council membership? Why?

• Why has he remained silent on Iraq and the war on terrorism since the invasion? Why has he refused to criticize President Bush on foreign policy? Who ordered a strict blackout of news and information about Iraq? Will he announce an end to the blackout?

Brother Sweeney, silence is no longer an acceptable option.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. My Tinfoil Hat Theory

The labor unions in the US have been in decline for decades, and for many reasons, not the least of which was their infiltration by the likes of the mafia. But that's not my point.

If they are to survive, they need new bodies. Looked at purely as a business and not the movement they once were, they need to grow or they will die. So .... as we spread our ..... uh .... democracy around the world, they want to come along for the ride. Just like any other corporate entity, they growth in them thar sands ......

Sweeney and his ilk play the game, but look behind the scenes. Cesar Chavez he ain't.

[Robbien]

9. Pass the aluminum foil over please

I read there is plenty of anti-union activity going on against the unions in Iraq with most of that activity being under the guise of the AFL-CIO.

[Voltaire99]

3. Labor under Sweeney: what's good for Bush is good for Murrica!

The AFL-CIO is mum on all of Bush's worst policies because

a) those policies tend to be popular among the rank and file
b) those policies trickle down investment

It's sad to see the labor movement in such bad odor, but this decline has been a long time in the making.

[Algorem]

4. Hey!Harry Kelber!

http://awf.cc/Guests/kelber.html
http://www.awf.cc
Listen the third Friday every month for labor talk on America's Work Force radio.
Harry Kelber's labor career started in the 1930s when he was a CIO organizer and the editor of the independent labor weeklies, the Trade Union Record and the Building Trades Union Press. Years later, as a union printer, he had an important role in the 1962-63 strike that shut down New York City's daily papers for 114 days.

In 1971, he helped found a labor college in New York City where he taught until his retirement. For more than five years, he served as director of the Trade Union Leadership Institute of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. He holds a Doctorate in American Civilization from New York University.

Kelber has written numerous booklets on organizing, labor history and other subjects, which are widely used by unions. He posts two weekly columns on the Internet.

www.laboreducator.org/labtalk.htm

[OzarkDem]

5. No surprise

Most labor leaders in recent years have been responsible for pressure on Dems to become "republican lite". Living in the midst of a heavily union area, its surprising how often their rank and file vote openly campaign and for Republicans.

As a group, they also tend to be somewhat racist and sexist when it comes to candidates and opposed to any kind of environmental protection. They're very liberal when it comes to labor laws and NAFTA, though.

Conservatives have been very successful in their campaign to lure these blue collar voters to support candidates who don't protect their interests. Funny thing, labor's political strategy has only hurt them.

One of the greatest outcomes of the resurgence in grassroots Dem politics is the weaning of the Dem party leaders from dependence on big labor leaders.

[saigon68]

8. They are afraid someone will take their GUNS AWAY

The Repukes will win Wisconsin the next time.

That's why we had CREEPY TOMMY THOMPSON (R) Hell: for 16 YEARS as Governor.

Thousands of SUPPOSEDLY Democratic UNION MEN

Voted for the repukes because they are convinced that PETA and HILLARY will take their guns away.

[OzarkDem]

10. Sounds like Ohio

Their anger at one of our Congressmen who voted for NAFTA resulted in the loss of a Congressional seat to R's. Since then Ohio has lost more manufacturing jobs than any other state. Yet these guys still keep voting for Republicans. Guns, gay marriage and God.

[saigon68]

11. Very SAD isn't it.

My Deceased Labor Ancestors are rolling in their Graves. They would be shocked to see our Local DINO "union" leaders

[gizmo1979]

6. If this is true

Sweeny must go now.

[ret5hd]

13. it is not just sweeney.

[gizmo1979]

14. Who else is involved?

[ret5hd]

15. research the afl-cio's involvement with the NED and CIA in South America.

[funkybutt]

7. AFL-CIO announced substantial layoffs recently

and I thought the labor movement laying people off was bad...this is ridiculous!

[ret5hd]

12. As a staunch union member/supporter for over twenty years now...

the one thing that truly shames me about the labor movement is this:

research the afl-cio's role in south america (with and thru the National Endowment for Democracy--the NED) and their ties to the CIA. This type of stuff has been going on for decades, literally (and i know the meaning of the word "literally").

It sometimes seems that we, as progressives, have NO friends or allies.

[bear425]

17. This article talks about afl-cio's / NED - here look

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8358.htm

-snip-
A foundation was established called the “American Political Foundation” in 1979 with major participation from the main labor center in the United States the AFL-CIO, with the United States Chamber of Commerce and with the Democratic and Republican parties, four main organizations, and the financing for this foundation came both from the government and from private sources. Their job was to study how the United States could best apply this new thinking in promoting democracy. The solution was the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its four associated foundations: the International Republican Institute (IRI) of the Republican Party, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of the Democratic Party, the American Center of International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) of the AFL-CIO, and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Where the AFL-CIO foundation is concerned, they took an existing organization which had worked hand-in-glove with the CIA for many years called the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), they simply changed the name.<1>

How exactly does the NED work with the CIA?

The mechanism would be that the Congress would give millions of dollars to the National Endowment for Democracy and the National Endowment would then pass the money to what they call the “core foundations” which were these four associated foundations, who in turn would then hand out the money to foreign recipients. This all began in 1984, and one of the first recipients of money from the NED was the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), which was then the focal point of the most extremist of the anti-Castro individuals and organizations in the United States. But the real test for this new system came in Nicaragua. In Nicaragua since 1979-1980 the CIA had this program of organizing counter-revolutionary military forces or paramilitary forces that became known as the Contras, with the logistics and the organization and backup all coming from places in Honduras. They infiltrated eventually something like 15,000 guerillas, whom the Sandinista army defeated. By 1987 they had terrorized the country-side, they had caused around 3,000 deaths, and many others were maimed for life. It was a strictly terrorist operation in the countryside, they were not able during all those years to take a single hamlet and hold it. So they were defeated militarily.

-more at link-

[bear425]

16. I just had the article and now it says I don't have authorization

to view it! very weird.

edit: This one seems to work, for now.

http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2176

[truthisfreedom]

18. you've got to wonder if the unions still control the actual presses...

and if they could shut them down if they finally decided they didn't want to be part of the anti-Constitution propagenda.