Labor Distances from Democrats

According to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Democrats should expect some painful payback from Labor for failing to keep a long list of promises involving core Democratic values:



The growing rift between labor and their Democratic allies was on full display Thursday, as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters that labor groups are planning to scale back their involvement with the Democratic Party in advance of the 2012 elections.



Going forward, Trumka said, the labor movement will build up its own political structures and organizations rather than contribute to and depend on the Democratic Party’s political operation. Trumka articulated a broader critique of the Obama administration, telling reporters that the president has allowed Republicans to set the terms of debate — focusing on what he called a manufactured debt crisis instead of a jobs agenda.



“I think he made a strategic mistake when he confused job crisis with deficit crisis,” Trumka said. “He started playing on the Republican ground.”



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