0115 txaflcioperryunion

Excerpt, Texas AFL-CIO News email from Ed Sills, director of communications, Texas AFL-CIO, Jan. 9, 2015

6:18 p.m.

1) Gov. Rick Perry, card-carrying member of the AFL-CIO?

That's what our departing Governor claimed in a speech before the right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation today, reports an apparently horrified Brietbart News, a right-wing publication.

Perry sought to channel President Ronald Reagan, who famously noted that he was a card-carrying union member (and who indeed had been president, for a troubled time, of the Screen Actors Guild).

At this writing, I have not been able to verify which union Perry belongs to and whether that union is in fact affiliated with the AFL-CIO. We have checked with the Texas State Employees Union, which often signs up state elected officials, and Perry doesn't appear to be a member. In the article, Perry discusses the Teamsters, who are our Brothers and Sisters but are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO; we have not found evidence he is a member of that union either.

We are told some reporters tried to chase Perry down to get a photo of his union card, but we don't know if anyone succeeded. If any reader of this newsletter wants to own up to Perry's membership in their union, please send word.

But I kid. The more, the merrier. The labor movement wants to be a big tent and we do proudly represent a minority of Republican members, many of them of the rock-ribbed, partisan variety. The AFL-CIO does not have a loyalty test. If anyone who disagrees with our policies or politics wants to join because they see value in collective action for a better livelihood, they will be welcomed, regardless of political party allegiance.

As governor, Perry has been anything but a supporter of the Texas AFL-CIO's policies. He has opposed a minimum wage increase, has rejected on ideological grounds tens of billions of dollars in federal funds that would expand Medicaid coverage, has chipped away at the ability of laid-off workers to receive Unemployment Insurance benefits, and has presided over a public school system that a state judge found to be unconstitutionally inadequate.

So the AFL-CIO went 14 years with a union member in the Governor's Mansion and didn't know it until now? If, as Perry suggests, his union membership is a political strategy, we'll see how that plays as he maneuvers to be your next President of the United States:

Widely assumed to be preparing for a second Presidential campaign, Perry spoke about reaching out to groups that historically have not voted for Republicans. Perry said that, like Ronald Reagan, he had been able to win votes and endorsements from the Teamsters, because of his efforts to reach out on economic issues that connected with their members.

Perry then mentioned that he still has an AFL-CIO membership. Reminding the audience that he used to be a Democrat, Perry said that he had joined the AFL-CIO and had maintained his membership, joking that the union may not like it when they receive his dues payment.

Perry continued, saying that he kept his union membership because he felt that the economic and job creation issues were critical to political success for conservatives, and he was not willing to cede those votes. "When you reach out the Teamsters and you talk about job creation, when you talk to a young Hispanic family...about why their future looks so bright...about where their children are going to go to college, because of policies that you as Republicans put in place in this state," then that is a winning message.

Republicans should not focus on the social issues that can divide people, but instead hit the issues that "touch people's hearts...regardless of where you're from or what your political affiliation may have used to have been." Perry advocated emphasizing Republican policies that make Americans think about "a future where my family has a better future," communicated in a passionate, compassionate way. "That ought to be our goal, to talk to people reasonably" about these issues, said Perry.