SEIU President Andy Stern Visits White House More Than Any Other Person – Why?
The White House released an incomplete list of visitors who met with President Obama and top White House officials. Predictably, Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union, stopped by the White House more than any other visitor. The Wall Street Journal Reports:
“Andrew Stern visited the White House 22 times between Inauguration Day and July 31, meeting with President Barack Obama seven times and leading all visitors recorded during that period.”
In light of this news, the Alliance for Worker Freedom sent out the following press release.
Click here to view AWF's press release as a PDF.
An interesting story to keep an eye on is which labor unions President Obama and his White House show preference to, the two major unions being the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Judging by the number of visits, it appears that the Obama administration favors SEIU meeting with Andy Stern 22 times and Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO a mere seven.
Although AFL-CIO and SEIU lobby for the same legislation, EFCA, there is still a healthy rivalry between the two unions. In 2005, Stern broke SEIU away from its parent company, AFL-CIO, announcing SEIU’s disaffiliation the union, a move that left a sour taste in the mouth of the AFL-CIO. Both unions also compete for the same workers. Unions survive through recruiting new members and with unionization rates falling, the fight for new blood has only heated up.
Obama’s seemingly intimate relationship with Stern could single a renewed effort to push through the objectionable Employee Free Choice Act. Those concerned with labor issues would do well to watch this friendship closely.
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