More of the same

“I think the unions have played a very important role in the history of this country to improve the plight and conditions of laboring Americans. I think that like many other monopolies, in some cases they have serious excesses.” [GOP Dearborn Debate, MSNBC, 10/9/07]

John McCain's categorization of unions as monopolies and his view of union as excessive reflects the utter disdain with which he treats America's working families. The fight for family-sustaining wages, decent hours, and safe working conditions is never excessive. Senator McCain is a fiercely anti-labor politician whose personal experience is far removed from that of working families as his own family has assets worth between $27 million and $42 million. Isn't that excessive?

"I understand why the AFL-CIO and maybe other unions may oppose my free market, uh, less regulation, um, right to work. I think we have honest differences of opinion." [McCain in New Hampshire, Fox News, 3/12/08]

While there are countless "differences of opinion" between the Labor Movement and John McCain, the bottom line is that unions fight for working families and McCain fights against them. He voted against the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007, arguably the most important piece of legislation for workers in 2007. The Employee Free Choice Act would have helped the 60 million Americans who wish to join a union be able to do so without intimidation or harassment from their employer. [H.R. 800, Vote # 227, 6/26/07]

Rather than protecting workers' rights on the job, John McCain advocated for the right to work for less. In 1996, he voted for a federally mandated ban on union security agreements that would attempt to eliminate unions entirely. This law, which he explained as a "Right to Work" Act, was actually just a way to circumvent union standards and would have destroyed the union contract. [S. 1788, Vote # 188, July 10, 1996]

While Senator McCain claims that he wants equal pay regardless of gender or race, he is currently opposed to a Senate bill that seeks equal pay for women because it would lead to more lawsuits. Apparently, he has little regard for America's mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters who are being discriminated against in their compensation. [McCain Opposes Equal Pay Bill in Senate - South Coast Today.]

Read below for more about Senator McCain's anti-worker record:

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McCain vs teachers' unions: Senator McCain believes that teachers' unions are detrimental to students. "It’s time to break the grip of the education monopoly that serves the union bosses at the expense of our children,” he said. [The New York Times, 2/11/00]

McCain vs state and local police and fire fighters: He voted against collective bargaining for state and local police officers and firefighters, essentially saying that these public servants dedicated to the safety of the population should be denied a voice at work.  [HR 3061, Vote # 323, 11/06/01]

McCain vs Transportation Security Screeners: In the Improving America's Security Act of 2007, Mr. McCain opposed granting the Transportation Secuirty Administration's screeners collective bargaining rights. Why should he dictate which workers deserve union representation when this is a legally protected right? [S. 4, Vote # 64, March 7, 2007]

McCain vs the Writers' Guild: On January 31, 2008, "The Late Show with Jay Leno" aired an episode with John McCain guest starring. To appear on the show, he had to cross the picket line formed by the striking Writers' Guild of America. While countless other invited guests chose not to cross the picket line, Mr. McCain crossed the line without a second thought so he could talk about being endorsed by failed candidate and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

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