Let’s establish this right out of the gate so as not to confuse issues: It is wrong when corporations use child labor. Forgetting the law for a moment, whether it is here in the U.S. or overseas, children are children, and corporations should not exploit children. Got it? With that said, this is not about corporations, this is about families and farms. More specifically, family farms and the overreach of the federal government.

For centuries, even before there was Willie Nelson and FarmAid, farming throughout the world (including here in the United States) has largely been a family affair.  That is, parents and their children (when not in school) work from dawn until dusk to put food on the family table, and the tables of others.

Recognizing this, when child labor laws were developed in the last century, there was an exemption built in for family farms. Now, however, the concept of the family farm may be getting gutted if the Obama Labor Department has its way.

Under a proposed “dramatic updating” of the nation’s child labor regulations, the Department of Labor is considering eliminating many of the tasks that children and young adults do on their family’s farm.

Although the DOL’s website specifically states, “The proposed regulations would not apply to children working on farms owned by their parents,” the regulations would (presumably) apply to farms owned by grandparents and other, non-parental family members.

Moreover, as the Milwaukee’s Journal-Sentinel notes, many family farms are legally structured, which could remove it from the parental farm exemption:

Under the proposed rules, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, someone under 18 would not be allowed to do many chores for a neighbor or even their own family’s farm if it’s set up as a corporation or a business partnership.

Today, many family farms are legally structured as corporations or partnerships.

Under the DOL’s proposal [emphasis added], the following tasks would be outlawed :

• Strengthening current child labor prohibitions regarding agricultural work with animals in timber operations, manure pits, storage bins and pesticide handling.
• Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from employment in the cultivation, harvesting and curing of tobacco.
• Prohibiting youth in both agricultural and nonagricultural employment from using electronic devices, including communication devices, while operating power-driven equipment.
• Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment. A similar prohibition has existed as part of the nonagricultural child labor provisions for more than 50 years. A limited exemption would permit some student-learners to operate certain farm implements and tractors (when equipped with proper rollover protection structures and seat belts) under specified conditions.
• Preventing children under 18 years of age from being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm-product raw materials. Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.

While many might view this as merely a simple example of bureaucratic overreach, diminishing a family’s ability to actually tend to their farm as a family could put many of them out of business since they could be forced to hire workers to fulfill the chores that their children are doing.

Of course, for those farms that can afford to hire employees and stay in business, this could be what the Department of Labor is counting on—especially in states like Hilda Solis’ home state of California, where farm workers can be unionized.

There are, according to the Department of Labor’s website, a couple of days left for the public to comment:

On October 31, 2011, the Department published a notice to extend the comment period to December 1, 2011, because of requests received to extend the period for filing public comments and the Department’s desire to obtain as much information about its proposals as possible. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov.

For more information about the DOL’s proposal, go to its website here.

Note: Neither Willie Nelson, nor FarmAid returned a request for a statement.

________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com.

Let’s establish this right out of the gate so as not to confuse issues: It is wrong when corporations use child labor. Forgetting the law for a moment, whether it is here in the U.S. or overseas, children are children, and corporations should not exploit children. Got it? With that said, this is not about corporations, this is about families and farms. More specifically, family farms and the overreach of the federal government.

For centuries, even before there was Willie Nelson and FarmAid, farming throughout the world (including here in the United States) has largely been a family affair.  That is, parents and their children (when not in school) work from dawn until dusk to put food on the family table, and the tables of others.

Recognizing this, when child labor laws were developed in the last century, there was an exemption built in for family farms. Now, however, the concept of the family farm may be getting gutted if the Obama Labor Department has its way.

Under a proposed “dramatic updating” of the nation’s child labor regulations, the Department of Labor is considering eliminating many of the tasks that children and young adults do on their family’s farm.

Although the DOL’s website specifically states, “The proposed regulations would not apply to children working on farms owned by their parents,” the regulations would (presumably) apply to farms owned by grandparents and other, non-parental family members.

Moreover, as the Milwaukee’s Journal-Sentinel notes, many family farms are legally structured, which could remove it from the parental farm exemption:

Under the proposed rules, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, someone under 18 would not be allowed to do many chores for a neighbor or even their own family’s farm if it’s set up as a corporation or a business partnership.

Today, many family farms are legally structured as corporations or partnerships.

Under the DOL’s proposal [emphasis added], the following tasks would be outlawed :

• Strengthening current child labor prohibitions regarding agricultural work with animals in timber operations, manure pits, storage bins and pesticide handling.
• Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from employment in the cultivation, harvesting and curing of tobacco.
• Prohibiting youth in both agricultural and nonagricultural employment from using electronic devices, including communication devices, while operating power-driven equipment.
• Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment. A similar prohibition has existed as part of the nonagricultural child labor provisions for more than 50 years. A limited exemption would permit some student-learners to operate certain farm implements and tractors (when equipped with proper rollover protection structures and seat belts) under specified conditions.
• Preventing children under 18 years of age from being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm-product raw materials. Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.

While many might view this as merely a simple example of bureaucratic overreach, diminishing a family’s ability to actually tend to their farm as a family could put many of them out of business since they could be forced to hire workers to fulfill the chores that their children are doing.

Of course, for those farms that can afford to hire employees and stay in business, this could be what the Department of Labor is counting on—especially in states like Hilda Solis’ home state of California, where farm workers can be unionized.

There are, according to the Department of Labor’s website, a couple of days left for the public to comment:

On October 31, 2011, the Department published a notice to extend the comment period to December 1, 2011, because of requests received to extend the period for filing public comments and the Department’s desire to obtain as much information about its proposals as possible. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov.

For more information about the DOL’s proposal, go to its website here.

Note: Neither Willie Nelson, nor FarmAid returned a request for a statement.

________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com.

It’s not turning into a good year for the Obama administration – in fact, it’s not been a good administration for the Obama administration – but I think that this is hardly an excuse for a Cabinet level official to use low-rent sexual epithets in public:

At the Florida Democratic Party State Convention over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis insulted members of the Tea Party, referring to the activists as “teab[*]ggers.” Teab[*]gger is a pejorative term used to refer to a certain sexual act. Liberal talk show hosts such as Rachel Maddow brought the phrase into the mainstream in 2009, using it as a tongue-in-cheek insult.

As reported by Tallahassee Democrat and Sunshine State News, after voicing her support for large federal programs, Solis warned, “I’ll be darned if I’m going to set that aside now because a few teab[*]ggers want to somehow muzzle my voice,” Solis said.

(Sanitizing mine.)

I’ve always been somewhat cynically amused at how liberal/Democrats/progressives could just somehow tell that when, say, the word ‘macaca’ was used it was clearly meant as a racial slur; but that the enthusiastic use of the term ‘teab*gger’ had no homophobic connotations at all.  This despite the fact that tracking down the former required some time with a dictionary, while finding rather graphic examples of the latter’s use requires nothing more than a Xbox and access to multiplayer Halo 3… but that’s not the important thing.  No, the important thing is that – according to the nice woman who I just talked to at the Department of Labor – complaints about alleged offensive and/or hate speech made by Department of Labor employees should be directed to the DoL’s Office of Inspector General Hotline at 800-347-4756, or via email at hotline(at)oig-dot-dol-dot-gov.

I mean, seriously: it’s one thing when representatives of private companies express hateful language designed to encourage anti-gay bigotry; distasteful as it is personally, certain types of trash behavior have to be tolerated.  But the federal government has some extremely tough internal regulations on what its employees can and cannot say in an official or even quasi-official capacity.  They must be held accountable to their own rules.

They must.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

It’s not turning into a good year for the Obama administration – in fact, it’s not been a good administration for the Obama administration – but I think that this is hardly an excuse for a Cabinet level official to use low-rent sexual epithets in public:

At the Florida Democratic Party State Convention over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis insulted members of the Tea Party, referring to the activists as “teab[*]ggers.” Teab[*]gger is a pejorative term used to refer to a certain sexual act. Liberal talk show hosts such as Rachel Maddow brought the phrase into the mainstream in 2009, using it as a tongue-in-cheek insult.

As reported by Tallahassee Democrat and Sunshine State News, after voicing her support for large federal programs, Solis warned, “I’ll be darned if I’m going to set that aside now because a few teab[*]ggers want to somehow muzzle my voice,” Solis said.

(Sanitizing mine.)

I’ve always been somewhat cynically amused at how liberal/Democrats/progressives could just somehow tell that when, say, the word ‘macaca’ was used it was clearly meant as a racial slur; but that the enthusiastic use of the term ‘teab*gger’ had no homophobic connotations at all.  This despite the fact that tracking down the former required some time with a dictionary, while finding rather graphic examples of the latter’s use requires nothing more than a Xbox and access to multiplayer Halo 3… but that’s not the important thing.  No, the important thing is that – according to the nice woman who I just talked to at the Department of Labor – complaints about alleged offensive and/or hate speech made by Department of Labor employees should be directed to the DoL’s Office of Inspector General Hotline at 800-347-4756, or via email at hotline(at)oig-dot-dol-dot-gov.

I mean, seriously: it’s one thing when representatives of private companies express hateful language designed to encourage anti-gay bigotry; distasteful as it is personally, certain types of trash behavior have to be tolerated.  But the federal government has some extremely tough internal regulations on what its employees can and cannot say in an official or even quasi-official capacity.  They must be held accountable to their own rules.

They must.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

This past weekend, the AFL-CIO played host to “more than 800 young people” at a conference in Minneapolis in an effort energize young activists to go forth and multiply the members by targeting America’s youth. As noted last week, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis attended the organizing “summit” and the labor secretary used some of her 30-minute speech to call for passage of the AFL-CIO’s American Jobs Act, as well as to take potshots at the Tea Party (beginning at 29:00 here).

Interestingly, one of the documents linked on the conference website spelled out in greater candor why the AFL-CIO is trying so hard to attract younger members.

A poignant and stinging criticism of the Labor Movement appeared on the vehemently antiunion website www.unionfacts.com in 2006. It said, simply, “Pale. Stale. Frail. Failed.” Above those words was a picture of the AFL-CIO Executive Board, from before Change To Win defections. Sadly what made the criticism poignant was its accuracy. Nearly every face, with far too rare exception, was that of an older white male. A quick glance at the Massachusetts AFLCIO Executive Council reveals the same reality. The truth hurts sometimes. [Emphasis added.]

In addition to invoking the spirit of Marx and his ideological progeny in the AFL-CIO-endorsed Arab Spring uprisings, as well as the #OccupyWallSt campout, AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka declared that unions and “people power” are the “most powerful force on the face of the earth for progressive values.”

As with all “community activist” organizations these days, according to the conference agenda, the AFL-CIO’s youthful attendees learned some basic tactics in Saul Alinsky’s strategies.

If Saul Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals is the heroin for hard-core community activists, the AFL-CIO’s conference youthful attendees were only given a little taste of Uncle Sauls elixir…

Sparking Trade Unionism and Labor Consciousness
Workplace democracy, solidarity, worker power, dignity and respect. These are core values of trade unionism. This workshop teaches participants how to talk to nonunion audiences about unions and build labor consciousness. Participants will learn effective ways to define what a union is, what it does and why unions are important. Participants also will learn techniques and simple exercises that can be used in large groups or during one-on-one conversations.

Elements of Issue Messaging
This workshop teaches core principles for developing a message on any topic, including message framing, imagery and values-based language. It will cover assessing your message’s strength in the face of opposition and how to deliver your message effectively in a one-on-one setting. This workshop offers a foundation for union organizing, political organizing, lobbying and press communication in a simple, easy-to-follow manner.

Moving Workers to Action Through One-on-One Conversations
The best way to move a worker to take action is face to face, and to have a productive conversation we need to have an agenda. This workshop will be a discussion of the one-on-one agenda we follow when talking with workers during an organizing campaign.

No. 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your people….”

Labor 101 for Non-Union Workers
As young activists, we do not always understand the roots of union work and the work that so many have done before us. We will examine the basics about labor unions, the issues they currently are engaged in and how they promote social and economic justice. We also will explore why America wins with union labor and products.

Comedy and Activism
Humor often can demonstrate a political point effectively and memorably, which is why so many campaigns find a way to mix comedy into their work. This workshop will discuss successful examples of campaigns using comedic videos, street theater and other creative actions to entertain as well as engage.

No. 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.”

Power Analysis: Know Your Targets
Why are they so powerful? Since the rich keep getting richer, it’s our responsibility to understand the powerful networks of CEOs, corporations, elected officials and the webs of relationships connecting them to one another. The foundation of any successful organizing or advocacy campaign is a clear understanding of the power relationships of the target and the ability of the campaigners to affect those relationships. This workshop will focus on providing young workers a framework to map out the power relationships of corporations, elected officials or any other type of potential target. Knowing their power gives us power and starts to even the playing field. The workshop also will provide participants with the skills to develop an internal assessment of their organizations to determine their capacity to effectively engage their targets and maximize their power.

No. 8: “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.”

No. 13: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

Creative and Effective Direct Action Tactics
Done so many traditional pickets and rallies that the bosses are getting used to it? Time to get creative. From theatrical actions at decision makers’ offices to YouTube-ready flash mobs, come get some fresh ideas about how to capture the attention of the press and the public while getting outside your target’s comfort zone.

No. 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

Innoculation
The goal of this training is to give participants a taste of an anti-union campaign with a captive audience meeting and give them the opportunity to practice organizing community allies to unite with workers in the fight for on-the-job justice.

Unlike an earlier draft agenda, the final published version did not reference unionizing google. It is not known whether this was discussed or not.

You can see more of the AFL-CIO’s education camp youth conference here.

________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

This past weekend, the AFL-CIO played host to “more than 800 young people” at a conference in Minneapolis in an effort energize young activists to go forth and multiply the members by targeting America’s youth. As noted last week, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis attended the organizing “summit” and the labor secretary used some of her 30-minute speech to call for passage of the AFL-CIO’s American Jobs Act, as well as to take potshots at the Tea Party (beginning at 29:00 here).

Interestingly, one of the documents linked on the conference website spelled out in greater candor why the AFL-CIO is trying so hard to attract younger members.

A poignant and stinging criticism of the Labor Movement appeared on the vehemently antiunion website www.unionfacts.com in 2006. It said, simply, “Pale. Stale. Frail. Failed.” Above those words was a picture of the AFL-CIO Executive Board, from before Change To Win defections. Sadly what made the criticism poignant was its accuracy. Nearly every face, with far too rare exception, was that of an older white male. A quick glance at the Massachusetts AFLCIO Executive Council reveals the same reality. The truth hurts sometimes. [Emphasis added.]

In addition to invoking the spirit of Marx and his ideological progeny in the AFL-CIO-endorsed Arab Spring uprisings, as well as the #OccupyWallSt campout, AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka declared that unions and “people power” are the “most powerful force on the face of the earth for progressive values.”

As with all “community activist” organizations these days, according to the conference agenda, the AFL-CIO’s youthful attendees learned some basic tactics in Saul Alinsky’s strategies.

If Saul Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals is the heroin for hard-core community activists, the AFL-CIO’s conference youthful attendees were only given a little taste of Uncle Sauls elixir…

Sparking Trade Unionism and Labor Consciousness
Workplace democracy, solidarity, worker power, dignity and respect. These are core values of trade unionism. This workshop teaches participants how to talk to nonunion audiences about unions and build labor consciousness. Participants will learn effective ways to define what a union is, what it does and why unions are important. Participants also will learn techniques and simple exercises that can be used in large groups or during one-on-one conversations.

Elements of Issue Messaging
This workshop teaches core principles for developing a message on any topic, including message framing, imagery and values-based language. It will cover assessing your message’s strength in the face of opposition and how to deliver your message effectively in a one-on-one setting. This workshop offers a foundation for union organizing, political organizing, lobbying and press communication in a simple, easy-to-follow manner.

Moving Workers to Action Through One-on-One Conversations
The best way to move a worker to take action is face to face, and to have a productive conversation we need to have an agenda. This workshop will be a discussion of the one-on-one agenda we follow when talking with workers during an organizing campaign.

No. 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your people….”

Labor 101 for Non-Union Workers
As young activists, we do not always understand the roots of union work and the work that so many have done before us. We will examine the basics about labor unions, the issues they currently are engaged in and how they promote social and economic justice. We also will explore why America wins with union labor and products.

Comedy and Activism
Humor often can demonstrate a political point effectively and memorably, which is why so many campaigns find a way to mix comedy into their work. This workshop will discuss successful examples of campaigns using comedic videos, street theater and other creative actions to entertain as well as engage.

No. 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.”

Power Analysis: Know Your Targets
Why are they so powerful? Since the rich keep getting richer, it’s our responsibility to understand the powerful networks of CEOs, corporations, elected officials and the webs of relationships connecting them to one another. The foundation of any successful organizing or advocacy campaign is a clear understanding of the power relationships of the target and the ability of the campaigners to affect those relationships. This workshop will focus on providing young workers a framework to map out the power relationships of corporations, elected officials or any other type of potential target. Knowing their power gives us power and starts to even the playing field. The workshop also will provide participants with the skills to develop an internal assessment of their organizations to determine their capacity to effectively engage their targets and maximize their power.

No. 8: “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.”

No. 13: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

Creative and Effective Direct Action Tactics
Done so many traditional pickets and rallies that the bosses are getting used to it? Time to get creative. From theatrical actions at decision makers’ offices to YouTube-ready flash mobs, come get some fresh ideas about how to capture the attention of the press and the public while getting outside your target’s comfort zone.

No. 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

Innoculation
The goal of this training is to give participants a taste of an anti-union campaign with a captive audience meeting and give them the opportunity to practice organizing community allies to unite with workers in the fight for on-the-job justice.

Unlike an earlier draft agenda, the final published version did not reference unionizing google. It is not known whether this was discussed or not.

You can see more of the AFL-CIO’s education camp youth conference here.

________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

In yet another example the Obama Administration’s pandering to its union cronies while thumbing its nose at the other 88% of America that is union free, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be headlining (at taxpayer expense) to an AFL-CIO “summit” later this week in Minneapolis. The subject of the conference? How to target and unionize young people (and others).

Targeting younger workers has been part of the AFL-CIO’s strategy since Richard Trumka took over the reins of the AFL-CIO in 2009. Elizabeth Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer, has been spearheading the effort and is hosting the “Next Up: Young Workers Summit” in Minneapolis later this week.

The summit was announced back in March on the Communist-run People’s World website:

The AFL-CIO’s new young workers advisory council is taking charge of the movement to invigorate the labor movement – and make its leadership more youthful – says Liz Shuler, the federation’s secretary-treasurer.

One key step, she said, will be a second “Next Up” summit for young workers and activists, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Shuler has led the effort to make labor’s leadership younger and look more like its members.  The first summit, in D.C. last year, drew approximately 300 delegates from around the country.  Shuler hopes for 800 this time.

According to the AFL-CIO’s blog on Monday:

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will headline a panel, along, with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler at the second annual AFL-CIO Next Up Young Workers Summit beginning later this week (Sept. 29-Oct. 2). Since taking office in 2009, Solis, the daughter of union members, has changed the direction of the Labor Department from one that favored employers to one that protects working people.

Hundreds of young working people, including organizers and students from across the country, will meet in Minneapolis Sept. 29-Oct. 2 for the summit, part of the AFL-CIO”s efforts, led by Shuler, to reach out to working people under age 35.

While not calling the conference courses Saul Alinksy 101, the attendees of the summit “workshops” will apparently be learning the basics of Uncle Saul’s community organizing tactics:

2:00 – 3:30

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development*
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Robert’s Rules of Order
2. Union 101 for Non-union Workers
3. Inoculation Trainings**
4. How to Organize on Campus
5. Basics of an Organizing Campaign

3:45pm – 5:15pm

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Infusion: Art and Organizing
2. Immigration 101***
3. Public Policy 101
4. Organizing in a Global Context****
5. Comedy Through Activism

For your bemusement, the entire “draft agenda” is here.

* Message Development is the identification of workplace issues and determining how best to exploit them with employees so as to convince employees that the union is the answer to whatever the issue.

** Inoculation trainings in union-organizing parlance means teaching would be organizers how to counter employers’ messages by telling employees what the employer may tell employees before the employer tells the employees, there by “innoculating” the employees from the information.

***Immigration 101 is essentially training on how to convince ‘undocumented immigrants’ to unionize despite the fact that they are in the U.S. working illegally.

**** For Organizing in a Global Context, go here, here and here

With over 9% officially unemployed, it does boggle the mind how a Secretary of Labor of the United States can blindly devote so much of her energies (and taxpayer dollars) by pandering so blatantly to those who excel at making job creation impossible more difficult.

Whether it’s trying to create hit lists for union bosses, or attending union organizing “summits,” it is difficult to recall a cabinet official from any administration so utterly and singularly beholden to a special interest.

Even though Solis never actually joined a union or had the ‘privilege’ of paying union dues, going out on strike, or being downsized from a union job, she does boast that her parents were union members, her demonization of business on behalf of union bosses is unparalleled.

Unless, of course, it all boils down to a simple and age-old premise: Reward your friends and punish your enemies.

Then again, it could just be the simple fact that Solis’ allegiance is based on the large amounts of union money union bosses have showered her with over the course of her career.

Meanwhile, as the summit in Minneapolis takes place later this week, taxpayer dollars will likely be used by a high-ranking Obama administration official to curry more favor with union bosses and show ‘solidarity’ in the union effort to rebuild their treasuries on the backs of Americas youth.

What a country.

_________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted.

In yet another example the Obama Administration’s pandering to its union cronies while thumbing its nose at the other 88% of America that is union free, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be headlining (at taxpayer expense) to an AFL-CIO “summit” later this week in Minneapolis. The subject of the conference? How to target and unionize young people (and others).

Targeting younger workers has been part of the AFL-CIO’s strategy since Richard Trumka took over the reins of the AFL-CIO in 2009. Elizabeth Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer, has been spearheading the effort and is hosting the “Next Up: Young Workers Summit” in Minneapolis later this week.

The summit was announced back in March on the Communist-run People’s World website:

The AFL-CIO’s new young workers advisory council is taking charge of the movement to invigorate the labor movement – and make its leadership more youthful – says Liz Shuler, the federation’s secretary-treasurer.

One key step, she said, will be a second “Next Up” summit for young workers and activists, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Shuler has led the effort to make labor’s leadership younger and look more like its members.  The first summit, in D.C. last year, drew approximately 300 delegates from around the country.  Shuler hopes for 800 this time.

According to the AFL-CIO’s blog on Monday:

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will headline a panel, along, with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler at the second annual AFL-CIO Next Up Young Workers Summit beginning later this week (Sept. 29-Oct. 2). Since taking office in 2009, Solis, the daughter of union members, has changed the direction of the Labor Department from one that favored employers to one that protects working people.

Hundreds of young working people, including organizers and students from across the country, will meet in Minneapolis Sept. 29-Oct. 2 for the summit, part of the AFL-CIO”s efforts, led by Shuler, to reach out to working people under age 35.

While not calling the conference courses Saul Alinksy 101, the attendees of the summit “workshops” will apparently be learning the basics of Uncle Saul’s community organizing tactics:

2:00 – 3:30

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development*
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Robert’s Rules of Order
2. Union 101 for Non-union Workers
3. Inoculation Trainings**
4. How to Organize on Campus
5. Basics of an Organizing Campaign

3:45pm – 5:15pm

CORE WORKSHOPS

1. Union 101
2. Using Social Media
3. Message Development
4. Organizing 101: One-on-Ones
5. Building Young Worker Groups

OTHER WORKSHOPS

1. Infusion: Art and Organizing
2. Immigration 101***
3. Public Policy 101
4. Organizing in a Global Context****
5. Comedy Through Activism

For your bemusement, the entire “draft agenda” is here.

* Message Development is the identification of workplace issues and determining how best to exploit them with employees so as to convince employees that the union is the answer to whatever the issue.

** Inoculation trainings in union-organizing parlance means teaching would be organizers how to counter employers’ messages by telling employees what the employer may tell employees before the employer tells the employees, there by “innoculating” the employees from the information.

***Immigration 101 is essentially training on how to convince ‘undocumented immigrants’ to unionize despite the fact that they are in the U.S. working illegally.

**** For Organizing in a Global Context, go here, here and here

With over 9% officially unemployed, it does boggle the mind how a Secretary of Labor of the United States can blindly devote so much of her energies (and taxpayer dollars) by pandering so blatantly to those who excel at making job creation impossible more difficult.

Whether it’s trying to create hit lists for union bosses, or attending union organizing “summits,” it is difficult to recall a cabinet official from any administration so utterly and singularly beholden to a special interest.

Even though Solis never actually joined a union or had the ‘privilege’ of paying union dues, going out on strike, or being downsized from a union job, she does boast that her parents were union members, her demonization of business on behalf of union bosses is unparalleled.

Unless, of course, it all boils down to a simple and age-old premise: Reward your friends and punish your enemies.

Then again, it could just be the simple fact that Solis’ allegiance is based on the large amounts of union money union bosses have showered her with over the course of her career.

Meanwhile, as the summit in Minneapolis takes place later this week, taxpayer dollars will likely be used by a high-ranking Obama administration official to curry more favor with union bosses and show ‘solidarity’ in the union effort to rebuild their treasuries on the backs of Americas youth.

What a country.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted.