Chavez-Thompson: A Hug for the Prez
Linda Chavez-Thompson, candidate for lieutenant governor in Texas, had the honor of introducing President Barack Obama to the state Democratic National Committee yesterday. But she refused to shake his hand. Instead, she
walked up straight to him, stared him in the eye and greeted him with a warm abrazo [hug]. Because that’s the way you greet a fellow laborer.
And yes, I consider Barack Obama a laborer.
Labor Caucus at Netroots Nation
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Elana Levin, communications director for the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), joined us at the recent Labor Caucus during the Netroots Nation 2010 conference of bloggers and online activists.
We had a lot to cover at this year’s Labor Caucus at the Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas last week. Some 70 participants took part—the largest-ever since we met five years ago at the first such national blogger conference. Participants included union staff, union members, political activists, labor bloggers, community organizations and candidates both past and present. The moderators were the AFL-CIO’s own Tula Connell and Matt Browner Hamlin of SEIU. We focused our discussion on young workers/young people in labor and how to improve public perception of labor unions.
Browner Hamlin brought up how the enemies of the netroots are the same pro-greed forces who are enemies of working people and the union movement. We have a lot of experience fighting against the corporate lobbies who sponsor astro-turf campaigns against the public interest and it would be good for the labor movement and the netroots to work together to stand up to the usual suspects that vex us all. Read the rest of this entry »
Netroots Nation 2010: Labor, Online Progressives and Union Beer
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Union activists are joining a couple thousand online progressives this week for the annual Netroots Nation conference. The July 22–25 event in Las Vegas brings political powerhouses like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) together with progressives from across the nation for workshops, panels and speaking events like the dynamic full-conference lunch session July 24 with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Along with Harvard legal professor Elizabeth Warren, Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson and others, Trumka will take part in the panel, “Building a Progressive Economic Vision,” where he will focus on the key steps the nation needs to take to rebuild our nation’s economy (hint: Trumka’s proposals don’t include slashing the deficit at the expense of jobs).
Chavez-Thompson Wins Texas Lt. Governor Primary
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Congratulations to AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson, who yesterday won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of Texas. Chavez-Thompson won with 53 percent of the vote.
Chavez-Thompson prevailed despite a three-way race in which Austin, Texas, deli owner Marc Katz’s 10 percent of the vote made it all the more difficult to win the more than 50 percent of the voted needed to avoid a run-off election. As Ed Sills, Texas AFL-CIO communications director, has noted, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle was a formidable opponent, and Chavez-Thompson’s win is a ”very impressive primary victory for any candidate, much less a first-time one.”
Chavez-Thompson will face incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in November.
“I’m humbled to have won the Democratic primary without a runoff,” Chavez-Thompson said in a statement.
On the other hand, our job is just beginning as we take our message to independent voters, frustrated voters, and working families.
Union Leaders Give Chavez-Thompson ‘Full Support’ in Texas Lt. Gov. Race
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Linda Chavez-Thompson, AFL-CIO executive vice president emerita, and candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Texas, “is a tireless advocate for civil, human, women’s and worker rights,” says the AFL-CIO Executive Committee in a statement expressing its full support for her run.
Meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., union leaders praised Chavez-Thompson as
one of America’s most revered and respected labor leaders….A little over two years after retiring from the AFL-CIO, she has decided to take her four decades of experience to another level to help working families in the state of Texas.
In the March 2 primary, she is running against Democratic candidates Ronnie Earle, a former county district attorney, and Austin delicatessen owner Marc Katz.
Chavez-Thompson Running for Lt. Gov. of Texas
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Big shout out to AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson who yesterday announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor of Texas, her home state.
The “Draft Linda” movement swept through Texas, pulling our much-admired former executive vice president out of semi-retirement and onto the Democratic Party slate for state leadership. The first hurdle is the March 2 primary, where she will run against Democratic candidates Ronnie Earle, a former county district attorney, and Austin delicatessen owner Marc Katz.
Ed Sills, communications director of the Texas AFL-CIO, says at her campaign launch, Chavez-Thompson’s campaign made it clear she is running to make changes in Texas, not against the Democratic opponents:
Chavez-Thompson discussed her journey from the cotton fields of West Texas to national office in the labor movement and how the hard work and leadership skills that drove her will translate to a state leadership role. She spoke of the need to emphasize education, health care and other basic priorities.
AFT Helps Teach Valuable Lessons in Women’s History Month
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To commemorate March as Women’s History Month, AFT has compiled resources to use in classrooms, union meetings and other venues to discuss the role of women in our nation’s history. The site pulls together a variety of resources that provide a glimpse into the many significant contributions women have made in the fight for both legal and social equality.
Women have taken leadership roles from the onset of the union movement. Today, 44 percent of union members are women. They hold some of the highest posts in the movement, including AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, 11 members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and the presidents of several unions such as AFT, AFTRA, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Flight Attendants-CWA, School Administrators and United American Nurses.
The resources compiled by AFT include profiles of some of the women who have fought for workers’ rights, fair wages, dignified working conditions and the freedom to join unions. They range from Lavinia Wright and Louise Mitchell, who formed the first all-women’s labor union in 1825, to the legendary Mother Jones and on to Linda Chavez-Thompson, the first woman to hold the office of AFL-CIO executive vice president and the first person of color to hold one of the top elected offices at the federation.
Click here to see a list and links to all the resources ands here for the profiles of labor heroines.
