Don’t buy into the ‘experts’ advice

By James Hansen on August 14th, 2010

Every politician who will be on the stump from now until the election in November will be talking about the need for jobs in the United States.

The problem with this is they don’t know how to create any jobs. Most of the nation’s manufacturing base has been moved to foreign countries where wages are lower. The loss of these jobs has left a huge void in the economy that so far we have not been able to fill. You simply can’t replace the benefits provided the nation by good jobs with those paying $7.25 an hour.

There doesn’t seem to be any sector of the economy capable of replacing the lost benefits—consumer buying power, tax revenues to local, state and federal governments and a higher standard of living for everyone. These are the advantages of high paying industrial jobs.

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Guest column: Don’t expect anything from the pols

By Steve Vairma
President, Colorado Council of Teamsters

The track record of the Democratic members of the Colorado congressional delegation—including the two U.S. senators—on labor issues is, at best, only fair. The Republican record is worse.

And those records probably won’t get any better for a long while.

Guest column: Corporate American holding all the aces

By Steve Vairma
President, Colorado Council of Teamsters

A lot of working men and women nowadays are wondering how and why the nation’s financial manipulators—including Wall Street bankers, stockbrokers, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and others–seem to have an inside track to our U.S. senators and representatives.

Guest column: Rush keeps on lying

By Mike Hall
AFL-CIO

It was Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) in his previous incarnation as an author and comedian who called Rush Limbaugh “A big fat liar.” Well, others can address the first part, but Limbaugh himself has again offered solid evidence about the liar part.

With some Dem friends, who need enemies?

With some Dem friends, who need enemies?

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would have made it easier to organize workers who want to be union members, is fast becoming a dim memory, with little chance of even being considered this year.

If it isn’t passed this year, odds are that EFCA will never become law, and major labor law revisions, which would add some balance to labor-management relations, will not be achieved in your lifetime.

Guest column: I support Andrew Romanoff

By President Bill Clinton

I was proud to carry Colorado in 1992, but you should be even prouder of what Andrew Romanoff did to turn the state blue. He worked harder than anyone in Colorado to put Democrats in positions of power — and to use that power to benefit every single citizen. Andrew won. Colorado won.

Most inept gubernatorial campaign in history?

Most inept gubernatorial campaign in history?

If the dialogue doesn’t change soon, the collective campaign being waged by three candidates for governor in Colorado could be the most inept in the state’s history–and we’ve had some pretty bad campaigns.

In a couple of so-called “debates,” these three guys have not offered a single clue about how they would solve the state’s problems.

(Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, shown at left, is just one of three candidates vying to replace one-term Gov. Bill Ritter.)

Guest column: Good advice but many deaf ears

By Steve Vairma
President, Colorado Council of Teamsters

A high-powered management law firm–which has offices in 16 states, including Arizona and Colorado—recently published an interesting article on its website that says employers sometimes can’t blame their employees for joining a union.

No kidding.

Arkansas election a good lesson for organized labor

Arkansas election a good lesson for organized labor

Union officials were steamed at the Obama administration after the Arkansas primary election Tuesday in which yellow dog incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln won a not-too-surprising victory over Lt. Governor Bill Halter.

Don’t shed any tears for Bill Ritter

Governor Bill Ritter’s decision not to run for re-election in 2010 is a wonderful, belated Christmas gift to Colorado Democrats in general and organized labor in particular.

With Ritter at the head of their ticket, the Democrats would have gone down to an ignominious defeat in Colorado, possibly losing their majorities in both the house and the senate.

Ritter gets Christmas gift; it’s a McInnis

Governor Bill Ritter received an early Christmas gift in November when Josh Penry bowed out of the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign in favor of Scott McInnis, a fraying but familiar politician who aspires to be a heavyweight, but has never been more than a bantamweight.

Unions, Dems should worry about 2010

Colorado unions will face a serious challenge in the New Year as they attempt to endorse candidates for state and national offices.

Note to Mike Rosen: ‘Thugs’ are in corporations, not unions

Mike Rosen, radio station KOA’s talk show blabbermouth, is at it again, characterizing union members as “thugs” in a recent column on the ongoing health care debate.

In his Denver Post column, Rosen attempted to compare various elements of the left to the rightwing nuts, many of whom have been photographed carrying guns while demonstrating at locations where President Obama has been speaking.

What can Ritter do to regain labor’s support?

The question today, sports fans, is, “What would Bill Ritter have to do to regain the trust and support of organized labor in Colorado?”

Distrust of Ritter runs deep among state’s unions

Unless he can convince many Colorado labor leaders otherwise, Governor Bill Ritter will lose support of many powerful unions that were instrumental in his 2008 victory.

And the possibility that Ritter can convince them otherwise is very slim, indeed.