Obama’s Labor Secretary To Headline AFL-CIO Union Organizing Summit Targeting Young Workers

In yet another example the Obama Administration’s pandering to its union cronies while thumbing its nose at the other 88% of America that is union free, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be headlining (at taxpayer expense) to an AFL-CIO “summit” later this week in Minneapolis. The subject of the conference? How to unionize young people (and others).

Targeting younger workers has been part of the AFL-CIO’s strategy since Richard Trumka took over the reins of the AFL-CIO in 2009. Elizabeth Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer, has been spearheading the effort and is hosting the “Next Up: Young Workers Summit” in Minneapolis later this week.

The summit was announced back in March on the Communist-run People’s World website:

The AFL-CIO’s new young workers advisory council is taking charge of the movement to invigorate the labor movement – and make its leadership more youthful – says Liz Shuler, the federation’s secretary-treasurer.

One key step, she said, will be a second “Next Up” summit for young workers and activists, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Shuler has led the effort to make labor’s leadership younger and look more like its members.  The first summit, in D.C. last year, drew approximately 300 delegates from around the country.  Shuler hopes for 800 this time.

According to the AFL-CIO’s blog on Monday:

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will headline a panel, along, with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler at the second annual AFL-CIO Next Up Young Workers Summit beginning later this week (Sept. 29-Oct. 2). Since taking office in 2009, Solis, the daughter of union members, has changed the direction of the Labor Department from one that favored employers to one that protects working people.

Hundreds of young working people, including organizers and students from across the country, will meet in Minneapolis Sept. 29-Oct. 2 for the summit, part of the AFL-CIO”s efforts, led by Shuler, to reach out to working people under age 35.

While not calling the conference courses Saul Alinksy 101, the attendees of the summit “workshops” will apparently be learning the basics of Uncle Saul’s community organizing tactics:

2:00 – 3:30

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development*
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Robert’s Rules of Order
2. Union 101 for Non-union Workers
3. Inoculation Trainings**
4. How to Organize on Campus
5. Basics of an Organizing Campaign

3:45pm – 5:15pm

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Infusion: Art and Organizing
2. Immigration 101***
3. Public Policy 101
4. Organizing in a Global Context****
5. Comedy Through Activism

For your bemusement, the entire “draft agenda” is here.

* Message Development is the identification of workplace issues and determining how best to exploit them with employees so as to convince employees that the union is the answer to whatever the issue.

** Inoculation trainings in union-organizing parlance means teaching would be organizers how to counter employers’ messages by telling employees what the employer may tell employees before the employer tells the employees, there by “innoculating” the employees from the information.

***Immigration 101 is essentially training on how to convince ‘undocumented immigrants’ to unionize despite the fact that they are in the U.S. working illegally.

**** For Organizing in a Global Context, go here, here and here

With over 9% officially unemployed, it does boggle the mind how a Secretary of Labor of the United States can blindly devote so much of her energies (and taxpayer dollars) by pandering so blatantly to those who excel at making job creation impossible more difficult.

Whether it’s trying to create hit lists for union bosses, or attending union organizing “summits,” it is difficult to recall a cabinet official from any administration so utterly and singularly beholden to a special interest.

Even though Solis never actually joined a union or had the ‘privilege’ of paying union dues, going out on strike, or being downsized from a union job, she does boast that her parents were union members, her demonization of business on behalf of union bosses is unparalleled.

Unless, of course, it all boils down to a simple and age-old premise: Reward your friends and punish your enemies.

Then again, it could just be the simple fact that Solis’ allegiance is based on the large amounts of union money union bosses have showered her with over the course of her career.

Meanwhile, as the summit in Minneapolis takes place later this week, taxpayer dollars will likely be used by a high-ranking Obama administration official to curry more favor with union bosses and show ‘solidarity’ in the union effort to rebuild their treasuries on the backs of Americas youth.

What a country.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted.