Convention start on Labor Day miffs some workers
But event creates jobs for unions
ST. PAUL - Opening their national convention on Labor Day won't win the Republican Party many converts among union members, who are a dependable component of the Democrats' coalition.
But behind the scenes, convention organizers accommodated organized labor on a matter of more than symbolic importance: union jobs in the setup and operation of the convention.
With 16 percent of its workers members of unions, Minnesota ranks seventh in the nation in percentage of such workers.
At the state AFL-CIO pavilion at the enormous state fair that closes tonight in St. Paul, some union activists were peeved that the GOP was kicking off its convention on a holiday won by organized labor.
"I think it's a slap in the face to me as a labor person. . . . They could've waited one more day," said Mary Ransom, a 35-year member of the machinists' union from Newport, a suburb of St. Paul. Ransom, a baggage handler for
"It's stupid; it's bad," snapped Sam Fusco, a retired member of the painters' union visiting the fair from Roberts, Wis., who dropped by the labor pavilion with his wife. "The Republicans are ruining this country," said Fusco, who described himself as an independent voter.
"I won't feel too good about the convention starting on Labor Day if I get arrested on Monday," said Bob Velez of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees unit that represents social services workers in nearby Hennepin County. "I'll be marching to protest the war in Iraq," he said.
The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is sponsoring what organizers say will be a massive protest march starting this morning at the state capitol building and ending at the
Democratic candidate Barack Obama's campaign wasn't standing down completely on Labor Day. The campaign said it was mobilizing supporters to spend this weekend registering voters and recruiting volunteers at house parties, picnics, and local rallies across the country in what the campaign called a "Working for Change Weekend."
Also, a labor advocacy group will begin showing $5 million worth of ads today on national cable and in targeted states to press for legislation that would allow workers to organize without secret ballot elections. The ads, from American Rights at Work, do not name either candidate, but the message of economic hardship dovetails with Obama's campaign themes.
Organized labor is not a monolith, however, and Bob Zick, a 30-year member of the electricians' union from North St. Paul, said he has been among the roughly 30 percent of labor union members who frequently vote Republican.
Zick said he is not troubled by the Labor Day convention opening.
"I think it's good," he said.
"We don't have a labor party, we have a Democratic Farmer Labor Party in Minnesota, and within that group there are different agendas," said Zick, referring to the formal name of the Democratic Party in the state.
Zick, who described himself as a conservative on many social issues, said he has left the Republican Party to become an independent after supporting Representative Ron Paul, the maverick Republican from Texas who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination on a platform based on libertarian principles and opposition to the Iraq war.
Paul and his devotees are planning a series of activities, including a large counterrally in Minneapolis tomorrow during the Republican convention.
Local labor leader Harry Melander said there is a more important convention issue than the Labor Day opening for local union workers - jobs before, during, and after the event.
"We've put a lot of union people to work at the Xcel center over the last eight weeks, peaking around 350 to 400 construction and stagehand workers," said Harry Melander, secretary treasurer of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council. 