Dems Shutting Out Labor? [Salon]

In my latest Salon column, I look at whether the DNC is intentionally or accidentally marginalizing organized labor:

Though there have been labor leaders at the convention podium, their roles haven’t been incredibly prominent. The UAW’s Bob King got a primetime role last night, but the campaign of course wants to highlight the story of saving autoworker jobs in Detroit. Meanwhile SEIU head Mary Kay Henry and AFL president Richard Trumka spoke as well, but their slots were relegated to the early hours of Tuesday and Wednesday’s programs. And perhaps more tellingly, while Bob King gave made a very strong and clear case for collective bargaining, he only mentioned the word “union” three times. Neither Trumka nor Henry used the word “union” at all in their remarks. Contrast this to four years ago when SEIU’s Anna Burger used the word union at least seven times in her 2008 DNC remarks and it seems at the very least curious. What’s more noticeable is that other speakers seem to be avoiding the topic of unions altogether.

Hope you’ll read the full article here.