The Wackenhut Security Post

The Wall Street Journal has written a very enlightening opinion piece today about the attacks on Wal-Mart. The paper reveals the forces behind the attacks:

"We've done a little digging into the two most prominent anti-Wal-Mart groups, and they might as well operate out of AFL-CIO headquarters. An outfit called Wal-Mart Watch was created by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), probably the most powerful union in America after the National Education Association. Wal-Mart Watch is backed by Five Stones, a 501(c)3 organization that received $2,775,000 in 2005 from the SEIU, or 56% of its $5 million budget. According to financial records, SEIU also gave Five Stones $1 million in 2004 to launch the anti-Wal-Mart group, and SEIU president Andy Stern is the Wal-Mart Watch chairman."

And the paper reveals the funding and the vehicle for the attacks:

"Most of the local protests against Wal-Mart are organized through the left-wing activist group ACORN, an acronym for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN is the group that put the squeeze on the Chicago City Council to pass an ordinance this summer to require Wal-Mart, Target and other big-box stores to pay a minimum $10 an hour wage and $3 an hour in benefits by 2010. (Democratic Mayor Richard Daley vetoed the bill.) ACORN also pretends it is a locally organized and funded voice of the downtrodden masses. But guess where ACORN gets much of its money? Last year the SEIU chipped in $2,125,229 and the UFCW $165,692."

And finally the paper reveals the REAL reason for the attacks (emphasis added):

"But as we say, this campaign isn't about "working families," or any of the other rhapsody-for-the-common-man union slogans. If Wal-Mart were suddenly unionized, Big Labor's membership would double overnight and union leaders would collect an estimated $300 million in additional dues each year to sway more politicians.

. . . That's what the war against Wal-Mart is truly about."

You could almost directly substitute the name Wal-Mart with the name Wackenhut Services. SEIU wages attacks on WSI both directly and through outside groups funded by the union. SEIU uses what the WSJ termed "rhapsody-for-the-common-man slogans" in its attacks on WSI.

And, most important of all, SEIU is attacking WSI not because it is concerned about the security of the United States. SEIU is attacking WSI because WSI did not roll over in the face of demands to waive WSI security officer rights to a secret ballot and demands to waive the U.S. government's rights to protection under the 9(b)(3) rule of the National Labor Relations Act.

SEIU believes that by bullying WSI they can put pressure on the Wackenhut Corporation and thereby organize thousands more security officers. That would mean a big payday for SEIU because when their membership swells their coffers also swell. More members equal more dues money.

That is what the war against WSI is truly about!

Posted by Suzanne Hammelman at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the mid-term elections just around the corner many organizations are getting the message out urging citizens to go to the polls and vote. It is not surprising to see ads for MTV's "Rock the Vote" program or the League of Women Voters leading up to Election Day.

What I did find surprising was that SEIU is urging people to vote on their Purple Ocean website homepage. They are doing it through the promotion of a movie called American Blackout. This movie claims that "they" (whoever "they" are is not immediately discernible from the movie trailer) suppressed voting in 2000 and again in 2004 by using intimidation and illegal tactics.

You can watch the movie trailer here at the American Blackout website. It seems one of the stars of the show is former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. You may remember her from her statements that George Bush caused the 9/11 attacks on New York. She is more recently famous for assaulting a Capitol Hill police officer who tried to stop her from entering the Capitol without proper identification. She has twice been rejected by the constituents of her own district - losing reelection in the primary both in 2002 and again in 2006.

But we diverge from the real shock of the website promotion. SEIU is asking people to go out and make their vote count in the upcoming elections saying:

"We can't let what happened in 2002 and 2004 happen again. Together, we can educate ourselves and take action to put an end to voter suppression across our country."

So, now SEIU is against voter suppression? Now they want people to vote?

If that's true maybe they will end the coercive corporate campaign tactics they are using against dozens of companies across the United States. Maybe they will stop demanding that WSI and others waive the right of their employees to vote in a secret ballot election.

My vote is - they won't!

Posted by Suzanne Hammelman at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)