So who's the hack now?
Sat Jan 19, 2008 at 12:09:25 AM PDT
Joan Walsh, editor of Salon, interviewed the CWA member who was intimidated by her CWA union rep. In that interview she makes it very clear that she was intimidated. The reporter, Michael Mishik, kept pushing her. "He twisted my words", said the victim. It was very clear to her that she was threatened by the union.
The reporter's idea of acceptable union tactics would make Sam Giancana proud, but I don't think most people, even Obama partisans , would think telling folks that they can't get the time off to caucus unless they pledge to caucus for Obama, or get their shift changed if they don't endorse Obama or in some other way have the union intercede with the casino to make things more difficult for the worker, constitutes persuasion and not coercion.
Here's the relevant portion of a lengthier piece she did on the Nevada caucuses after the fold.
The piece in Salon
http://www.salon.com/...
Sunday January 20, 2008 00:37 EST
Dolores Huerta: "Como se llama" Obama?
Paris Hotel and Casino worker Sylvia Antuna, says the Sun's "debunking" got the story wrong, and she confirmed the original account of her intimidation by a union rep in an interview.
snip
Antuna's complaint was first brought to the Sun by Clinton supporter and Paris cook Marie Angers, and her son Matt DeFalco, who also works there. They told of watching Antuna be threatened by a CWU rep that if she didn't support Obama, she couldn't caucus. Sun reporter Michael Mishak did a story on their account, but according to Mishak, Antuna didn't quite confirm it when he talked to her; she ultimately put the exchange between her and the Obama-supporting union rep down to "miscommunication." CWU communications director Pilar Weiss attributed the conflicting stories to the fact that the union rep spoke Spanish -- though, in fact, Antuna speaks Spanish, too. (Weiss did not return a call seeking comment on Antuna's story.)
Then Taylor Marsh interviewed Marie Angers on tape, who was there with her son Will DeFalco who both observed the intimidated and remonstrated with the unrepepntent union rep about "This is America, you can vote for who you want.
"
I'm just afraid to say anything," she said.
This is what she said happened.
All I want to do is tell you how it went. The whole week [union reps] were coming to the cafeteria, trying to sign up voters, some independents, some Republicans, trying to get them to endorse Obama. I would try to eat, and it was 'Obama, Obama, Obama.' I'd say, 'Leave me alone, I'm an independent, I don't know who I want.' But then I really wanted to go to the caucuses, I was confused about who I want to vote for and I wanted to experience it all myself. And they were making it sound like I had to register as a Democrat to caucus.
"So I finally said, 'Can I please have a paper to change my party?' I sat down and started filling out the paper work, and the woman said "Sweetie, you're gonna support Obama, right?" I said 'No, I'm undecided,' and she said, "Well, you can't go if you're not supporting Obama.' And she took the papers from my hands. It was so embarassing, everyone had their eyes on me.
"Marie and Matt were sitting there and they said, 'Sylvia, you don't have to do that, anyone can go to the caucus.' Even my actual boss had asked me if I wanted to go. But [the union rep] said, 'No, honey, you can't go, because you're not supporting Obama.'"
snip
When the, reporter Michael Mishik called to interview Antuna he kept pushing her for a certain storyline she claims. Actually Antuna claims
"He twisted my words."
Asked if she said it was just a "miscommunication," she insisted, "I didn't say anything like that." Mishak stands by his story, saying that it was clear Antuna "was upset by the incident" but that by the end of their conversation, "she portrayed it more as confusion than anything else."
The reporter insisted that that his story clearing the union was still accurate because he insisted Antuna was confused, felt it was a misunderstanding....etc.
Does it seem Antuna felt it was just a misunderstanding? No I think she got it.
