President Barack Obama’s political advisers are pressing labor unions to contribute to the Democratic convention in September to cover a fundraising shortfall resulting from their self-imposed ban on corporate donations, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Democratic officials gave representatives of the major U.S. unions, including the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Auto Workers, a tour of the convention sites in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 23 in advance of a request for donations, according to the two people, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss internal strategy.
The three-day convention will culminate in Obama’s re- nomination in Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 6. So far, the host committee in Charlotte is roughly halfway to its $36.6 million goal.
Four years ago, unions contributed more than $8 million to the Democratic convention in Denver, according to financial disclosure reports.
Jeff Hauser, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO, declined to comment on the new request.
The Republican National Committee has not imposed a similar ban on corporate donations for its convention, scheduled for Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, Florida. It has secured contributions from companies including AT&T Inc. (T), Microsoft Corp. and Coca-Cola Co. (KO), to meet their $55 million target, said Aileen Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Tampa host committee.
“They are great supporters of the host committee,” she said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...nions-to-cover-convention-cost-shortfall.html
That's too funny, in August the unions were pissed because the DNC picked NC for the site of the convention.
Democratic officials gave representatives of the major U.S. unions, including the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Auto Workers, a tour of the convention sites in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 23 in advance of a request for donations, according to the two people, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss internal strategy.
The three-day convention will culminate in Obama’s re- nomination in Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 6. So far, the host committee in Charlotte is roughly halfway to its $36.6 million goal.
Four years ago, unions contributed more than $8 million to the Democratic convention in Denver, according to financial disclosure reports.
Jeff Hauser, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO, declined to comment on the new request.
The Republican National Committee has not imposed a similar ban on corporate donations for its convention, scheduled for Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, Florida. It has secured contributions from companies including AT&T Inc. (T), Microsoft Corp. and Coca-Cola Co. (KO), to meet their $55 million target, said Aileen Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Tampa host committee.
“They are great supporters of the host committee,” she said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...nions-to-cover-convention-cost-shortfall.html
That's too funny, in August the unions were pissed because the DNC picked NC for the site of the convention.
About a dozen trade unions plan to sit out the 2012 Democratic convention because they’re angry that it’s being held in a right-to-work state and frustrated that Democrats haven’t done enough to create jobs.
The move could pose a larger problem for President Barack Obama next year if an increasingly dispirited base of labor activists becomes so discouraged that it doesn’t get the rank-and-file to the polls in the usual strong numbers.
The unions — all part of the AFL-CIO’s building and construction trades unit — told party officials this week they are gravely disappointed that labor was not consulted before Democrats settled on Charlotte, N.C., where there are no unionized hotels.
“We find it troubling that the party so closely associated with basic human rights would choose a state with the lowest unionization rate in the country due to regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers,” Mark Ayers, president of the building trades unit, wrote in a letter to Democratic Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
I guess they forgave der leader.The move could pose a larger problem for President Barack Obama next year if an increasingly dispirited base of labor activists becomes so discouraged that it doesn’t get the rank-and-file to the polls in the usual strong numbers.
The unions — all part of the AFL-CIO’s building and construction trades unit — told party officials this week they are gravely disappointed that labor was not consulted before Democrats settled on Charlotte, N.C., where there are no unionized hotels.
“We find it troubling that the party so closely associated with basic human rights would choose a state with the lowest unionization rate in the country due to regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers,” Mark Ayers, president of the building trades unit, wrote in a letter to Democratic Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.