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Friday, September 18, 2009

Why Is Labor Supporting Joe Mallahan?, Part Two

Posted by on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 2:54 PM

(Part one.)

"Mallahan said he didn't have anything to do with the anti-union activity at T-Mobile," says John Masterjohn of Laborers' Local 1239.

This was a common theme in my conversations with local union leaders about why they're supporting Joe Mallahan, who they attacked only weeks ago for a) not having enough political experience and b) working as a vice-president at T-Mobile, a company that has been condemned by American unions and the German union of T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom. (Read their report on T-Mobile USA here.)

"Look, because you're a vice president doesn't mean you're the CEO—you're not calling the shots," said Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild. "How much influence can he really have?"

Good question. I asked T-Mobile for Mallahan's job description—"vice president of strategic operations," which sounds influential. (And obscure.) They responded through their pr firm:

In response to your questions about Joe Mallahan, please refer to the following information, attributable to “T-Mobile,” not to any individual.

“We're pleased that T-Mobile employees are engaged in public service and are participants in the democratic process. We respect Joe's efforts to run for public office; he's currently taking a leave of absence from the company during his campaign. Beyond that T-Mobile has no further comment."

The Mallahan campaign submitted this job description: "Led a team charged with identifying and executing breakthrough profit drivers and customer experience improvements in all aspects of T-Mobile’s Customer-Facing Operations." Mallahan, apparently, had some achievements in the handset game—installment plans, promotion of, etc. In other words, more sales than personnel management. Fair enough.

The two most-cited reasons the unions went for Mallahan are a) the tunnel and b) his "management experience."

"Management isn't all bad," said Chris Dugovich, president of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees.

"Look, I have concern for the people in the telecommunications industry," said Eric Franklin of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. "But we're carpenters. We build things. We're concerned with infrastructure issues."

Every union I spoke to, except the Police Officers Guild, mentioned the tunnel as a central issue (and even the police mentioned it eventually). A few spoke of a perception of neglect from McGinn.

"We had talked to Joe earlier and didn't get any interest from Mr. McGoo or McGee or whatever," said Masterjohn. "Joe had good answers to the questions we asked—and if he doesn't know a lot about unions, we're hoping we can educate him and get him on board."

"Mallahan has spent a lot of time reaching out to labor," Franklin added. "They're both relative political unknowns."

McGinn agrees the union support—and some of the business support—for Mallahan is all about the tunnel. "That's the overriding issue of concern for unions and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce," McGinn said this afternoon in a phone interview. "There's a lot of money behind that tunnel and a lot of people against that tunnel."

David Freiboth is the chief executive officer of the King County Labor Council, the AFL-CIO umbrella with 125 affiliates and 75,000 members. In other words, The Man when it comes to labor in Seattle. (On how to pronounce his name: "Got two eggs? Fry both of 'em.")

Freiboth explained the union wariness about McGinn: "There's a concern that McGinn represents the kind of progressive environmentalism that takes economic growth for granted. McGinn shares a lot of our values and is emphatic about the way he lines up on our issues. But some of our members got the sense that if we were at odds on an issue, we'd be able to work better with Mallahan to find a responsible compromise."

So Mallahan is the candidate of compromise?

"With McGinn," Freiboth said, "there's an underlying fear of gridlock."

I proposed a thought experiment: no such thing as the Viaduct, no such thing as the 519 (another transportation issue regarding I-90 and pier 46, on which labor disagrees with McGinn). Would the unions have endorsed Mallahan?

"I'm not sure they would've," Freiboth said. "There are still folks uncomfortable with Joe's corporate background. And they're both still relative unknowns. In my 25 years in politics in this state, I've never been in this kind of situation with these kinds of stakes."

"We're gambling here."

 

Comments (32) RSS

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Baconcat 1
So basically, this isn't about voters, it's about their own self interest. They all know this tunnel will go overbudget and overschedule, so that keeps them pretty comfy on the city dime for years to come.

And they also just endorsed McGinn as the pro-environmental progressive. Gosh, hard choice.
Posted by Baconcat on September 18, 2009 at 3:02 PM
COMTE 2
Um, Baconcat, you DO realize that union members ARE voters, no? This just happens to be an issue of great importance to this particular group of VOTERS.
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on September 18, 2009 at 3:11 PM
3
Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the impression that it wasn't so much that Mike McGinn blew off these unions--that it was the other way around, that the unions didn't make much effort to reach out to McGinn. I mean, why would they?
A. He's against their multbillion-dollar baby, the tunnel, which of course some other poor schmoe can pay for.
B. He's an environmentalist.

At least I give David Freiboth credit for honesty—for admitting that there are philosophical differences with McGinn because he's (nasty word alert) an environmentalist.

But this is where Freiboth is wrong, in a profound and self-defeating way. If we as Americans hang on to this myth that somehow environmentalism and the economy are at odds with each other, we're not only going to ruin the environment, we're going to get our collective economic ass kicked.

From the most recent Tom Friedman column in the NY Times:
If you read some of the anti-green commentary today, you’ll often see sneering references to “green jobs.” The phrase is usually in quotation marks as if it is some kind of liberal fantasy or closet welfare program (and as if coal, oil and nuclear don’t get all kinds of subsidies). Nonsense. In 2008, more silicon was consumed globally making solar panels than microchips....


An economy where pollution is cheap is inherently an economy where labor has less value. And there's a heck of a lot more work needed in refashioning our region's infrastructure to meet a 21st century Mike McGinn vision than there is in hanging on to what got us here.

So with union endorsements like this, you know two things:
1. The unions are only looking our for their own narrow interests, not the common interest.
2. The union leaders don't have the vision to even know what's in their own narrow interests.
More...
Posted by cressona on September 18, 2009 at 3:18 PM
gloomy gus 4
Comte, this follow up makes it look like you truly nailed it @19 in comments to Part 1.

Fuck, I hope McGinn starts working on this. Especially since it looks like he's got a political problem being identified with what the AFL-CIO guy pointed out, the older "progressive" no-growth environmentalism, rather than where he actually is, the new "smart-growth-friendly" generation of enviros that's done okay getting business and labor to adopt better practices. I think his developer sponsors at Great City and developer donors could get out there to reassure labor that "smart-growth-friendly" is where McGinn's actually been lately.

'Cos I really, reeeeally don't like Mallahan. And I know I hold McGinn to a higher standard because of what he claims, so it's easier for me to get annoyed at his weaknesses than Mallahan's. I need him to give me a better explanation for refusing all these unions, because without anything better to go on it looks like arrogance. (Unions themselves can be arrogant too--you'll never catch me, coppers!--but hell, they're not asking for my mayoral vote.)
Posted by gloomy gus on September 18, 2009 at 3:22 PM
5
COMTE @2: Um, Baconcat, you DO realize that union members ARE voters, no? This just happens to be an issue of great importance to this particular group of VOTERS.

Um, COMTE, you DO realize that health insurance industry employees ARE voters, no? Health care reform just happens to be an issue of great importance to that particular group of VOTERS.

A little Civics 101 here. Democracy ceases to function when everyone is at odds with everyone else because everyone's only looking out for themselves.
Posted by cressona on September 18, 2009 at 3:23 PM
6
So McGinn blows off seeking union endorsements, and procedes to mess up so badly in his few attempts, that they don't endorse him. Why not do an article titled "How did McGinn lose the support of labor?" Or would the focus of such an article reflect poorly on the Stranger's sainted choice?

In your own post:
"We had talked to Joe earlier and didn't get any interest (from McGinn)" and "Mallahan has spent a lot of time reaching out to labor."

A group supports a candidate that actually reached out to them??? And doesn't support the candidate that didn't bother to court them??? Wow! What has become of politics?

Posted by TJ on September 18, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Simply Me 7
I don't feel like gambling with $4 Billion and an unnecessary tunnel. I don't feel like gambling with the environment. I don't feel like gambling with labor. I'm going with McGinn.
Posted by Simply Me on September 18, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Joe 8
You know who McGinn has reached out to? The LGBT community. Notice the Approve Referendum 71 logo on his website.
Posted by Joe http://www.joemirabella.com on September 18, 2009 at 3:49 PM
9
@8 - Notice the Approve Referendum 71 log on Mallahan's as well.

Does slapping a logo on your website constitute "reaching out" to a community? I never in my queer, union-member life saw either of these guys before they started running for office.

Mallahan at least wanted labor's endorsement and set about trying to get it in a serious way. I can't say the same for McGinn.
Posted by Gompers on September 18, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Joe 10
McGinn reached out to me very early in the campaign because he was aware of my activity in the LGBT community. I was pleased that his campaign was eager to hear from a variety of people in our community.

I'm also pleased to see Mallahan also is supporting the Approve 71 campaign. Pardon my error.

Clearly McGinn needs to work out some issues with labor, but long term the environment is going to win in his mind. The ultimate questions for voters should be about a sustainable future with environmentally sound development, or one where the almighty dollar comes before all else.

I admire an old Native American philosophy to act with the next 7 generations in mind. I believe McGinn will govern with the future of the land in mind while creating a stable economic future. He proposed expanding the light rail system, for example. If passed, good union jobs would result and we would be developing in a sustainable way.
Posted by Joe http://www.joemirabella.com on September 18, 2009 at 4:03 PM
11
Hey Brendan - have you spoken to any of the other unions who haven't endorsed? Perhaps some of the more progressive unions in town? And yes, that's plural.
Posted by LR on September 18, 2009 at 4:17 PM
kk in seattle 12
Union members care about the tunnel construction, but they are also concerned that the industrial parts of the city are currenlty being neglected and will become more neglected if only environmental interests are represented at City Hall. That's not to say it's a rational fear, but McGinn has nothing to say on the matter that the unions like. For example, there is concern over bicycle paths in the Salmon Bay Industrial area, the loss of industrial property Interbay and Sodo to commercial and retail use, and the effect on Sodo, the waterfront and Georgetown if industrial traffic is gridlocked when the viaduct comes down without a viable replacement. It's very hard to move industrial products produced by high-wage union labor on bicycles and light rail.
Posted by kk in seattle on September 18, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Baconcat 13
@12: Which is why they do their moving at night, typically, when there isn't any real traffic milling about.
Posted by Baconcat on September 18, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Hernandez 14
I think it's really amusing that during the Bush years, we all chided middle and lower class Republican voters for voting against their own economic self-interest (tax cuts for the wealthy and all), yet now we are chiding union workers (in a precarious labor market, I might add) for endorsing Mallahan in their own economic self-interest (the tunnel project).

I hope that McGinn can get some support from union voters, but he's going to have to do better than "the unions just like Mallahan because he's pro-tunnel". He's going to have to explain to them how HIS proposals will keep them working. Until he does that, there's no reason to expect he'll get any union support.
Posted by Hernandez http://hernandezlist.blogspot.com on September 18, 2009 at 4:27 PM
15
Mallahan could put a lot of fears to rest by publicly supporting WashTech's organizing efforts which are currently underway at T-Mobile. All Mallahan has said so far is that he doesn't know anything about unions at T-Mobile. Does he know now? Is he afraid to say anything for fear of offending T-Mobile execs? What does this say about his political priorities?
Posted by wondering on September 18, 2009 at 4:32 PM
COMTE 16
@5:

Considering there are roughly 75,000 union members allied with KCLC representing approximately 20% of the total workforce in the county (it's slightly more than that, but I figure there are some who may work outside the county - and of course, not all of them live and vote in the county) I'd say that's slightly more than "self interest".

Look the bottom line is that McGinn has done a lousy job of reaching out to unions. As I stated in an earlier thread, quite a few of those union members were genuinely impressed with his showing at the Wednesday evening forum, but it would have made a much bigger impact on the outcome of the endorsement vote if he'd spent more time talking to them. As it was it was a case of too little too late.

Mallahan meanwhile has made a concerted effort to reach out to union members, and apparently they've liked what they've heard from him, so he's getting their support.

IMO, McGinn got into this race as a single-issue candidate, and so far he hasn't done a very good job of staking out positions on issues other than the tunnel. I'm not saying that he hasn't taken positions, but if you were to ask most potential voters what they are, I doubt many could articulate them.

Mallahan, whatever his other shortcomings may be, has simply been more astute in terms of connecting with the constituency groups he'll need in order to win - and that, is how politics works.

(And just so I set the record straight: I most likely will vote for McGinn, so I'm not arguing FOR Mallahan per se, simply pointing out how he's managed to get these endorsements.)
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on September 18, 2009 at 4:33 PM
COMTE 17
@13:

When it comes to transporting goods to-and-from the waterfront, the trucks roll when the ships are docked, and that's pretty much 24/7.
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on September 18, 2009 at 4:35 PM
18
As noted in this post, Mallahan's expertise is in sales. Perhaps he is just better at selling himself to unions than McGinn, but does that mean he will actually be better for them? I think he is selling them snake oil. He is a corporate dog that knows the right key words to draw an emotional response from the Unions. I don't trust him one bit and I'm in a Union.
Posted by Nine to Five on September 18, 2009 at 4:48 PM
Baconcat 19
@17: Watching traffic right now.

Not seeing many trucks. Just a lot of cars.

Maybe there aren't any ships docked right now?
Posted by Baconcat on September 18, 2009 at 4:54 PM
20
The bottom line is that MOST union leadership in this country is ready to sell out rank-and-file workers in order to get a "seat at the table" with whomever is in power. Unions, like the lgbt movement, are guided by well-to-do folks separated from the daily struggles of the rank-and-file they claim to represent. Not a big surprise.
Posted by Lonnie on September 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
21
No one is factoring in the probability of a Mallahan win.

If unions are stuck with two candidates that are mediocre on union issues, and the unions believe that one of the candidates is going to win, then it makes more sense to endorse that candidate--especially if the race is close-ish. Unions can later claim that their support was crucial to the mayor's win when they need something from city hall.
Posted by aff on September 18, 2009 at 5:08 PM
breakdown 22
Thanks for the article, Brendan. I sure notice a higher level of discourse in the comments when an article has some substance to it.
Posted by breakdown on September 18, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Will in Seattle 23
I hear McGinn released a paper on his policy on immigration in our city today.
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on September 18, 2009 at 6:14 PM
seandr 24
Definitely some good, thoughtful writing on the topic of unions, Brendan.

Unions played a key role in humanizing capitalism in its early stages, but in the modern western world, they simply put the workers' interests directly at odds with customers.

Unions place seniority over competence. They make it impossible to fire people who suck at their jobs. Don't believe me? Just look at the SPD or the public school system. Or GM. Or Boeing. Union shop == FAIL.

The fact that unions support Mallahan is a good reason not to vote for him.
Posted by seandr on September 18, 2009 at 10:17 PM
COMTE 25
Where do people get this idiotic notion that union members can't be fired? ANY worker who doesn't meet the expectations of management in terms of productivity, accomplishment or achieving stated benchmarks can be dismissed. It's just that unions have codified a system where, if management is going to dismiss an employee for cause, they have to prove it. Contracts provide protections to workers from egregious and punitive dismissals, by setting, when appropriate, objective standards that codify what is expected of employees, and providing a mechanism for them to grieve disciplinary actions they believe to be unfair.

And heck, in most states management doesn't even need to adhere to even these standards, if they simply dismiss an employee without prejudice (e.g. layoffs), since most states uphold 'at will" employment practices. As someone who works for a union, I can attest to the fact that, if management truly wants someone off the payroll, there are plenty of ways for them to accomplish that; not to mention the fact that grieving a dismissal can be expensive, time-consuming, and even in a best-case scenario the union has maybe a 50-50 shot at winning, if the grievance ends up going before an NLRB adjudicator.

When people generally complain about unions in certain industries placing "senority over competence" (cit ref @24), they generally have no objective proof of incompetence, only a vague feeling that, "well, that lousy cop/teacher/machinist whose actions I personally disagree with didn't get fired, so it must be the fault of a corrupt union", while of course failing to take into account the quite obvious fact that, nine times out of ten the employee hasn't been found to have done anything wrong, and the tenth time, when they HAVE, they WERE dismissed.

Fortunately, firing someone for incompetence requires a much higher standard of proof than one uninvolved, uninformed outsider's personal opinion.
More...
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on September 18, 2009 at 11:11 PM
26
This is just another story on how both Mallahan and McGinn are the two worst candidates for Mayor in our city's history. And the Stranger needs to take its lumps for their role in the primary. We are watching a slow motion train wreck happening for this city.
Posted by West Seattle Waiter on September 18, 2009 at 11:57 PM
27
#26 - you don't get it.

The Stranger has not been taken seriously in past elections - they backed Mc Ginn to the hilt, he is on the ballot. Score one.

He does not win, still score one. And his cult will be ready for whatever is next and loyal to the Stranger.

Mc Ginn is fat and ugly, why is his fat better than Nickels fat? Stranger, readers want to know? You sure chewed a lot about Nickels shape and looks..... now a fattie and ugly is you candidate ... amazing.

Mc Ginn rides a bike, he sure needs to .... longer miles might help. I hate all fat people who claim to love the environment. No room in green for fat.
Posted by Young Greenie on September 19, 2009 at 10:42 AM
28
Thank you for interviewing union members. Had this been in "Part 1", it would have made your story much more thoughtful. In the end, though, good reporting to cover the complexity of the issue.

However I still have to disagree with the presumption that McGinn is more progressive. He's a corporate lawyer with no social justice background. On issues of affordability and jobs, he and Mallahan are both zeroes. If McGinn has given labor the impression that he's arrogant, that he won't return their calls, that he wouldn't work with them, then you have to take that seriously instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt just cause you think he's progressive.
Posted by Trevor on September 19, 2009 at 12:56 PM
29
"He's a corporate lawyer with no social justice background"

I guess that means he's never helped set up brothels for 14 yr old Salvadoran girls?
Posted by Roger That on September 19, 2009 at 4:05 PM
30
Always funny when middle class, college educated liberals discover that working class union members don't sit around singing Woody Guthrie songs, live as vegans or ride bicycles....
Posted by Billy Boy on September 19, 2009 at 4:08 PM
31
What labor wants is WORK. I strongly believe that a McGinn Seattle will have mroe work for labor than a Mallahan Seattle, for reasons a bit complex for a quickie post. But McGinn better articulate this, and do it FAST. The reason Seattle has survived and prospered is that it remains one of the few places that has its priorities straight- people, community, quality of life, air and water quality, schools, etc. That's why people come, and that's why they stay and start business.
Posted by Super on September 20, 2009 at 1:10 PM
32
Good thing Tim Keck (married to a rich doctor, wears Hugo Boss ties) and Dan Savage (angling for HBO series; rides limos to book readings and lectures) have kept unions out of The Stranger's news room because there'd be no fun exchanging hypocrisy allegations.

To all the chumps who buy the Stranger's blue-collar posturing, you've been had by a stooge of the Tobacco industry.
Posted by Joe Hill on September 20, 2009 at 11:59 PM

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