I sometimes wonder how I get on mailing lists. One of them that I am on is from Worker Center Watch. I have written about them before. They are an anti-union front group—they claim they are fighting the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Our Walmart by exposing them. According to The Nation :
Worker Center Watch was registered by the former head lobbyist for Walmart. Parquet Public Affairs, a Florida-based government relations and crisis management firm for retailers and fast food companies, registered the Worker Center Watch website. The firm is led by Joseph Kefauver, formerly the president of public affairs for Walmart and government relations director for Darden Restaurants.
I am not sure that Worker Center Watch has the best interests of minimum wage workers in mind. That being said, in their latest expose’ email they are horrified to tell you that one of the organizers who works for the SEIU makes a six-figure salary! They go on to state:
It turns out, the fight for $15 movement is really lucrative business for labor bosses. According to the latest reports on file, the SEIU has sunk almost $80 million in this three year battle organizing fast food workers.
Yes, it takes money to organize, yes you have to pay the people who are organizing a competitive wage for the work they are doing. But, let’s step back a moment. SEIU has spent $80 million on organizing. So, what are the CEOs of fast food restaurants paid?
The CEOs of five of the most well-known fast food brands make $28.1 million dollars a year. Over the three years that the fight for 15 has been going on that equals—$84.27 million dollars. SEIU has spent $80 million on organizing during that time, and the CEOs of just five fast food companies have made over $84 million dollars. Pot, meet Kettle.
The fundamental problem with Worker Center Watch’s argument is that unions are not run by “Big Union Bosses.” They are run by rank and file members of the union, they hold elections, they vote, and they work to make things better for union members, and for potential union members.
My question to you is, who are you going to believe? An organization that is run by for former Walmart executives, and would have you believe that a union organizer making a six-figure salary is far worse than a CEO making millions on the backs of minimum wage workers. Or the organization that works to ensure everyone has a right to earn a fair wage?