Union Leaders on The Hill Blog

by Mike Hall, Dec 22, 2006

Take a look at The Hill’s Congress Blog where United Steelworkers (USW) member Mike Michaud, a Democrat representing Maine, compares Congress’ inaction on funding bills to a .180 batting average in baseball, well below the famous “Mendoza Line.”

Also on The Hill Blog, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the new Congress cannot let President Bush hold a minimum wage increase hostage to his demand for even more business tax breaks.

Michaud, a 30-year paper mill worker before winning his seat, and currently a member of USW Local 4-00037, writes:

When Congress adjourned for the year, it did so without passing the crucial funding bills for 2007.  In fact, it passed only two out of the eleven. Batting .180 is not too impressive in baseball, and it hardly gets the job done in Congress either.

In a way, it is not surprising that the Congress could not complete its basic appropriations work: As the Washington Post recently pointed out, by the last day of this past Congress, the outgoing congressional leadership had held the Congress in session in Washington for a total of 103 days.…One thing anyone at the mill can tell you is this: It’s awfully hard to get the job done when you don’t show up for work.

Says Sweeney:

Remarks by President Bush calling for a minimum wage raise only if coupled with even more tax breaks for business makes it painfully clear that the president has learned nothing from the message working people sent at the polls in November. Since Bush took office, business has enjoyed hundreds of billions in tax cuts, while health care, secure retirements and the minimum wage have all been on government’s back burner…. America’s workers deserve a clean vote on a $7.25 increase, with no strings attached.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)