GOP/LABOR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At the largest meeting of organized labor next week, U.S. unions are shutting out politicians so they can determine who their friends are.
The question for labor unions is how to deal with a Republican White House that many of its members oppose but whose policies also appeal to significant elements of the labor movement.
President Donald Trump has peeled support from workers who say they’ve felt the sting of globalization. He has pushed policies—including on energy and trade—that appeal to blue-collar workers in fields such as construction, manufacturing and mining.
But what’s become the majority of organized labor—service unions such as those for teachers, government employees and health-care workers—opposes administration policies such as immigration restrictions and an overhaul of the tax system.
Worker advocates must decide how to proceed next week in St. Louis during the AFL-CIO’s once-every-four-year convention. There the nation’s largest labor federation will bring together 56 unions, including the American Federation of Teachers and the United Mine Workers, to set the policy tone and pick leadership through the next presidential election.”
-Eric Morath, “With Workers Split Over Trump, Unions Look to Bridge the Divide,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 20, 2017 07:00am