Donald Trump put representatives of working people on his big “I’m going to boost manufacturing by meeting with people” initiative just last month. But surprise, surprise!
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff for the federation of 55 unions, are on the White House’s list of leaders but didn’t receive invitations for the meeting held Thursday at the White House, according to Carolyn Bobb, a spokeswoman for the labor group. To Bobb’s knowledge, the business-leaders panel has had no interaction with Trumka and Lee so far.
That meeting was for rich people only, it seems:
“This was specifically for people who were hiring people and the impediments they’re having to creating additional jobs,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in response to a question at his daily press briefing. The president still "values their opinion.”
Values their opinion, but doesn’t actually want to know what it is. Certainly doesn’t want a discussion of jobs to include the message that paying people a living wage and offering benefits and allowing them to organize and bargain collectively is an important part of rebuilding American manufacturing as something other than China-lite.