Yup….
This IS a Democratic story of course right now …..
But if successful?
Could turn to the Republicans….
Campaign workers as organized labor…..
The campaign staffer handing out those yard signs, however, is almost certainly not part of a union.
They are likely working around the clock, at below-minimum-wage, in an industry with unpredictable benefits, hiring and firing practices, and procedures for sexual harassment or other discrimination. They may even have to feed volunteers out of their own pockets.
But a new union is trying to change that by organizing campaign workers, forcing a conversation about why Democratic politicians often don’t treat their own workers the way their stump speeches demand workers in other industries be treated.
“The Democratic Party is a champion of labor rights, except where its own laborers are concerned,” reads the sign-on letter for the Campaign Workers Guild. “We sacrifice our health, financial security, and leisure time to support candidates and movements that we hope will make our society more prosperous, equitable, and inclusive. It’s time for our employers to live up to the values they publicly espouse.”
The CWG, which launched in February independently of any larger union, has so far organized 12 campaigns and progressive entities, with the ultimate goal of having a Democratic Party-wide collective bargaining agreement, as well as one for Republicans….
People who volunteer for a campaign should be doing it because they love the candidate, not because they want to enrich themselves. And anyone running a campaign should be able to hire and fire at will, which is inconsistent with the values of a union.
Democrats should not support labor unions – especially this labor union.
Full time, long termers, SHOULD be paid like everyone else at the top of the campaign…..
Trying to make a living by being a full time campaign worker seems to me a little far fetched ,Union or no union.
I don’t think this union will ultimately be too successful.
By definition, a campaign has a finite life.A full time campaign worker has to be constantly on the move looking for the next campaign and it’s unlikely that many people will wish to make this their vocation for an extended period of time,
Any group of workers has the right to organize a union, in my view, but some areas of work are such that a union would serve little purpose.
This seems to be a prime example.
The top people in any campign get paid
Why not the grunts?
THEY do all the footwork…
I never said they shouldn’t be paid.
My comment was directed at 1) the nature and impermanence of campaigns does not lend itself to people making a career out of such work and 2)due to such,the establishment of a union for such people is likely to be difficult
Please refrain from one of your inane attempts to stir up a discussion based upon a total mischarcterization of what I said.
It is my understanding that most people who work on a campaign are doing it for free because they believe in the candidate. And even those who get paid – including at the higher levels – are not getting a large salary.
While this is probably obvious to almost everyone. if all campaign workers would start to get paid, then it would make running for office even more expensive and would make campaigns even more dependent on getting campaign contributions from the special interests., and it would make it even less likely that non-wealthy candidates would win.
This is a truly stupid idea.
Maybe stupid by they ARE organizing
And getting sign ups
james, let’s also unionize and demand pay for charity workers as well, right?
That was a dumb comparison example….
As we all know top people in campaigns get PAID
AGAIN?
WTF shouldn’t the people who do the grunt work full time?
I’m not talking about drop in volunteers for a day or two
The top people get “paid” because they are professionals that fill a market need for their skills.
The volunteers do not get paid, because they are volunteers, and they do jobs that just about anyone can do. (Sometimes, campaigns have enough money to provide some financial resources to people who canvass, etc) Also, those who are subcontractors, such as people who work at call centers will be paid by campaigns, because there is also a market for those relatively low-skill jobs.
But any campaign that cannot attract volunteers to its cause is not a campaign worthy of winning and everything Zreebs has said today on this topic is correct. (It must be the Chicago snow.)
Then who are you talking about?
Just about anybody who works for a campaign 40 hours or more a week already gets paid, but depending on the campaign, the number of those positions are relatively small, and for good reason.
There are also of course other kinds of compensation, such as those who intern on a campaign and get High School or college credit for doing so, as well as having something to put on their resume if they wish to continue in the campaign field.
Volunteers are just that though, volunteers. Why should that change?
The few times I was paid to do simple canvassing, I felt guilty (as opposed to when I have had paid campaign positions) as I’ve devoted countless hours of free campaign work in my life (only to eventually be basically betrayed by my party starting in 2016, but I digress…)
Both Z and CG ?
Please re-READ the linked piece
We are talking about people who sign on to campaigns for extended periods of time
The people being signed up are NOT volunteers ….
They are not just drop in people
They are, from the piece , looked at as ‘cheap labor’ essential, but expected to be happy foot soldiers ..
You two have missed WHI they are….
Not to mention, there is often free pizza, pop, and other foods galore in the office..
Who knows what the Democrats offer as part of their spread…
Wow!
Free pizza!
Vans to be dropped off from…
Doors closed on them…
Cursed at…..
Supervising volunteers that in it for the fun, but have no idea WTF is going on except they want to be involved?
Moved from state to state …..
They do NOT deserve a decent wage???
You TWO. Are kidding me right?
Those people are already getting paid then. If they don’t think it’s enough money to sustain themselves, let them work in a different field (like I had to.) Why should they be unionized? Is the work physically dangerous? (At times it can be I suppose, but that’s because of your opponents, not because of your boss, minus the sexual harassment I suppose)
If somebody is not performing though or there are questions about their character or motives, they should be fired right away, as campaigns are finite things where time is of the essence. Some union is going to step in to demand that someone keeps their job on a campaign? Give me a break.
So, people should be paid because someone might curse at you or close the door on your face or hang up a phone on you?
My goodness.
Anybody who relocates their life to work on a campaign is already getting paid. It’s their choice to work in that industry. Usually, they do it because they love it and believe in the cause, not to get rich.
You are unable to distinguish between the relatively small number of paid positions a campaign and the need that just about all campaigns have for volunteer labor.
The article just shows how Democrats are going to be faced with increasing instances of internal conflict over things like this and how the “progressive wing” of the party is going to be making even bolder demands in the very near future.
As in those who travel from state to state to work full time in high level campaign positions. They get paid.
I am not talking about the people who will take a week or a month to travel to Iowa or New Hampshire on their own dime because they believe in a candidate They are doing that because they want to, and that’s where it should stay.
It is a great analogy. People with leadership roles in charities don’t get a lsrge salary and the workers typically work for free.
Democrats should be trying to make it easier for non wealthy candidates to win and not have to depend on special interest campaign contributions.
You have your view Z
But how does THAT play in the Northeastern Blue state that have strong union membership?
We’re talking about Democrats
Not Republicans
Getting a living wage IS central to the Democratic brand..
Think about it
Democratic campaigns being anti-union are campaigns throwing away base votes…
If a Democratic considers herself/himself to be very pro-union, then there is a good chance I won’t vote for that person – at least not in the primary.
This type of union will make it substantially less likely that the Democrats would win elections. And the Democrats that do win would be more likely to be either exceedingly wealthy or beholden to special interests.
What you are supporting is an absolutely stupid idea.
I thought you promised to fix the problem of me having my comments in moderation?
I did….
Late yesterday…
And you came right thru…Jst now you got caught…I have no reason why….
I’ll try some more magic
I use multiple devices to log into pdog. When I use my cell phone, it goes through immediately, but the other devices do not.
Ah!…..
So That’s it!
The system remembers the cell phone….
Can you fix so it also remembers my work computer and my main iPad? This would cover about 90% of my communications.
I’ll try….
New Push for Senators to Pay Their Interns
…“Politicians love to talk about a living wage and providing opportunities for the future, yet some won’t even give them money to buy coffee,” ….
More…
People with leadership roles in non-profits often make large salaries, competitive with, if not so large as in, the private for-profit sector.
One of the job requirements for such a job is (sadly) the ability to raise money, and those who can’t do that well often don’t get the top executive posts.
Think of university presidents, college coaches in NCAA Divisions I & II, hospital presidents, the heads of such charitable groups as the American Red Cross, and the full-time CEO’s (even artistic directors) of theatres, ballets, orchestras, operas, museums and public broadcasting stations.
The honorary President or Chair of the Board might well be a prosperous volunteer business executive, investor, entrepreneur or professional, but the professional who works at the job day-in and day-out for over 40 hours a week definitely goes get adequately, and often handsomely, paid.
The median salary for a college president is $270k. While that might sound like a lot of money to you, it is absolutely nothing compared to what executives in industry make. Nonprofit salaries for the CEO are usually a small fraction of what a CEO in the private sector typically makes. Nonprofit salaries are not even remotely competitive with industry salaries, and the people who take these positions don’t do so for the money.
And college coaches don’t qualify as a charity.