This page was last updated on May 13, 2013.
Nearly 500 Celebrate May Day in Pittsburgh with a Colorful and Festive March and Rallies; Carl Davidson; Progressive Democrats of America – PA 12th CD Chapter; May 2, 2013.
This piece also appeared on the USW website.
You can learn more about BCR’s leftster management here. “Leftster” is the combination of leftist and gangster, inspired by the left-originated “bankster.”
“Nearly 500 workers and community actvists [sic] marched through the streets of Pittsburgh’s South Side May I [sic] celebrating the international workers holiday. The main theme of the event was linking a defense of worker’s rights with immigrant rights, and backing the passage of a just and comprehensive immigration reform bill in Congress.”
[RWC] “Nearly 500” leftists out of a metropolitan population of about 2.4 million. That’s awesome! (Yes, that outburst was tacky.)
Don’t be fooled; for this group of people, this was a celebration of leftism just as it was in the USSR and is in North Korea. If you think the parades of military hardware (North Korea, USSR, etc.) on May Day are/were celebrations of “the international workers holiday,” I have a bridge to sell you. Mr. Davidson was kind enough to provide more supporting evidence; he sent out a Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) piece with the headline “May Day Shows Labor Moving Left,” as if labor union management moving further left were news. (If this link doesn’t work in the future, try the “CCDSLinks” link on the CCDS home page.) Mr. Davidson is a co-chairperson of CCDS and the Shannons (BCR officers) are on the National Coordinating Committee.
If you wondered what “a just and comprehensive immigration reform bill” means, take a look at the truck from which Leo Gerard spoke. The truck sported a banner saying “Solidarity Has no Borders – Comprehensive Immigration Reform Now,” like the one shown at the top of the subject piece.
As a reminder, we’ve been down this road before. U.S. immigration law is already comprehensive and provided amnesty for then-illegal aliens (1986). Had we simply enforced existing immigration law, we would not have the current mess. There is no reason to believe the enforcement provisions of any new law will be honored better than those of our current immigration laws.
If you’re a thinking person, you may wonder why labor union management would support “no Borders,” amnesty for illegal aliens, et cetera. After all, large numbers of undereducated and unskilled residents, whether illegal or legal, depress wages for everyone. Throw in an inability to speak/read/write English and we have a double whammy. The undereducated, unskilled, and English-illiterate also place a heavier demand on so-called “safety net” programs, meaning more taxes for legal residents. Legal immigration is great and most of us support it. What isn’t great is any policy that doesn’t allow us to assimilate immigrants at a rate that benefits us all. Even the U.S. has limits on its rate of assimilation. Naturally, not all immigrants are undereducated and unskilled. My paternal-grandmother’s family was an example. I’ve focused on the undereducated and unskilled here because that’s the focus of the left. After all, if you’re educated and skilled, you’re less likely to fall for the promise of “free stuff” from the government.
As recently as at least the 1970s, labor union management fought against illegal aliens and lax immigration law. The reason was simple. If your primary concern is for working Americans and unemployed Americans (includes all legal residents) who want a job, you don’t want an uncontrolled flood of undereducated and unskilled immigrants who can’t speak English to enter the U.S. job market. It’s commonsense and simple high-school economics.
So what happened?
The primary business of labor unions devolved into political advocacy/lobbying for leftist politicians and policies/programs. Representing employees is now simply a fund-raising chore labor union management must endure to provide funds for its lobbying and political activities. (Where’s the IRS office of tax-exempt entities when you need it? <g>) Heck, AFL-CIO CEO Richard Trumka conceded as much when he said, “I got into the labor movement not because I wanted to negotiate wages. I got into the labor movement because I saw it as a vehicle to do massive social change to improve the lots of people.” With union membership continuing to wane (only 6.6% in the private sector for 2012), labor union management needed to find a new source of Democrat voters and revenue (via member dues) to fund its leftist activism. Enter immigration policy. With leftsters promising all kinds of social programs (aka “free stuff”) to undereducated and unskilled immigrants, whether here legally or not, for whom do you think these folks would vote? Despite their rhetoric to the contrary, this also means lefties have no incentive to improve the lives of poor immigrants and existing legal residents. [Note: There was a bigotry component to the former union position on immigration (going back at least to the early 1900s), but management finally decided they needed to “hold their noses” to survive. If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s what lefties (the guys with the fire hoses, attack dogs, etc.) did to lock up black voters.]
“‘Everyone here is an immigrant or the sons and daughters of immigrants,’ declared Leo Gerard, USW President, speaking from the back of a truck. ‘We can’t separate worker’s rights and immigrant rights, they’re one and the same.! [sic]”
[RWC] Not exactly. As I’ve noted before, Mr. Gerard is not a U.S. citizen; he’s a foreign national (Canadian). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines immigrant as “a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence.” According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Despite spending the majority of his time in the United States, he said he wouldn’t give up his Canadian citizenship: ‘I don’t want to give up my health care.’” Maybe it’s just me, but that’s a pretty snotty answer. Mr. Gerard has apparently been living in the U.S. since at least 2001 and he thinks so little of the U.S. that he doesn’t want to be a citizen because of “health care?” Doesn’t the USW provide medical insurance for its employees? You can learn more about Mr. Gerard here.
“The main organizers of the celebration were Fight Back Pittsburgh and United Steel Workers Local 3657. The United Federation of Teachers, the United Electrical Workers, SEIU, IBEW, the USW’s ‘Women of Steel’ and other unions also took part.”
[RWC] Fight Back Pittsburgh is an arm of the USW.
“This was the first May Day event backed by Pittsburgh unions in some years, and it was also promoted nationally by Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO. It marks the beginning of a more militant response by labor against austerity and in defense of wider democracy for all of its allies.”
[RWC] As I noted in a previous critique, “Mr. Trumka has an interesting definition of ‘austerity.’ Spending in the 10-year period (2014-2023) increases every year, from $3.8 trillion in FY 2014 to $5.7 trillion in FY 2023, an increase of 50%.”
“The day started with a rally at the UFT headquarters, followed by a mile-long march along Carson Street, ending with another rally, with music and food, at the IBEW headquarters.
“Community organizers from One Pittsburgh and the resident groups also played an important role, bringing out Latinos, Middle Eastern and African immigrants. Activists from Beaver County’s Progressive Democrats of America, Beaver County Peace Links and Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism also took part.”
[RWC] One Pittsburgh’s (web site, Facebook) “Coalition Partners” are the usual leftist suspects.
Unlike lefties, when I look at a group of people I see Americans, not members of various skin colors, ethnic backgrounds, et cetera. Here’s hoping one day leftists will evolve to that higher plane.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
© 2004-2013 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.