Last Friday, close to twenty advocacy groups and labor unions came together in front of the Loew’s Hotel in Center City Philadelphia to protest Tom Donhaue, the President of US Chamber of Commerce, who was speaking there. And, in the process, we learned something about the nature of political struggle in the United State today and about what we progressives must to do be successful
We were there because, on issue after issue, Donahue has lead the US Chamber of Commerce to stand with the biggest, and most politically connected, corporations in the United States, and with their immensely overpaid chief executives, against the interests of not just the public at large, but most small and large businesses in the United States.
Speaking on behalf of Health Care for America Now, Ken Weinstein, the owner of the Trolley Car Diner in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, explained why it makes sense for business owners to offer health care to their workers and how the health care reform plan before Congress will help them do that. Yet the US Chamber of Commerce is siding with the large health insurance companies like Cigna, Wellpoint, and United Health against reform. (Click here for video of Ken’s speech.)
Speaking on behalf of Penn Environment, Adam Garber, explained how clean energy legislation will reduce the energy costs for consumers and businesses and create thousands of new jobs. Yet the US Chamber of Commerce is siding with the large fossil fuel companies and against reform. (Click here for video of Adam’s speech.)
Speaking on behalf of the Media and Democracy Coalition, their national field Hannah Miller, started off by asking the advocates for other issues whether the internet is critical to our work. We, of course, all said, “yes.” Hannah explained how, losing net neutrality will cost us a critical tool for ‘democratizing power.” But not only is net neutrality critical for freedom and democracy, it’s critical for commerce as well since, as Hannah pointed out, “our economic lives…are becoming ever more on-line.” And yet the Chamber of Commerce is siding with the large communications companies like Comcast and Verizon, and against reform. (Click here for video of Hannah’s speech.)
And speaking on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 1776 and the labor movement more generally, Local 1776 political director John Meyerson said that we need to fight “corporate tyrants” like Wal-Mart. New protections for the rights of workers to organize would lead to a better trained, more productive, and better paid workforce and everyone including business and workers would benefit. And yet the Chamber of Commerce is siding with the companies like Wal-Mart that abuse their workers and against the expansion of worker’s rights. (Click here for video of John’s speech.)
If there had been enough time, we would have also had a speaker talk about how new financial regulations would protect businesses and the public at large from the speculation and risk taking that so recently brought our economy close to another depression and cost the public and the business community hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts. And yet the Chamber of Commerce is siding with the largest financial firms and against the new regulations.
And we could have gone further: the Chamber of Commerce is always on the wrong side. Indeed, as I pointed out at the event, if you are progressive and not sure where you stand on an issue, you can just go to the Chamber website and see where they stand and then take the opposite point of view. There are few sure things in politics but this is one of them: the Chamber will be on the side of the powerful and the overpaid and you will be on the side of the people and much of the business community, especially the small businesses that generate most new jobs in America. (SEIU Healthcare PA dramatized the Chamber’s relentless and consistent approach with their shark puppet. See it here.)
As members of advocacy groups and labor unions stood together outside Loew’s Hotel on Friday, something clicked with most of us. We recognized two important truths about political conflict in America today, two truths that at some level we already knew but which, at that moment, became far more present and important to us than they had been.
On issue after issue in America, the battle lines are drawn in exactly the same way: a very few, big, established corporations and their over-stuffed and over-paid chief executives are using their political connections either to keep their privileged position in the United States (health care, energy, worker’s rights) or to create such a position (net neutrality). And that privileged political and economic position is so important and so critical to their huge profits and high salaries that these businesses are willing to pay a price, for example, in higher health insurance premiums or energy costs and, in the long term, in the disaster that will be created by a collapse of our health care system or global warming, in order to hold on to it.
Even more importantly, as we stood shoulder to shoulder and supported each other’s cause, we recognized that this is what we must do to defend ourselves and our democracy. Indeed, while we each of our organizations have to keep leading the way on one or another issue, it was evident to us that we are all in this together. The only way we can win is if we keep working together and supporting one another.
In the aftermath of an inspiring presidential election, it’s easy to forget that the forces that stand against progressive reform in the United States are extremely powerful and united. Looking at Tom Donahue’s Chamber of Commerce brings that home to us. We know we can’t match the economic resources they bring to political conflict. So, to defeat them, we have to build dynamic, determined, grass roots movements that are willing to work as one when the moment demands it.
And if you look at the video, you’ll see that we can do this. For the event in Philadelphia, was not only powerful but joyous. Standing together as one felt good.
We need to keep meeting like this, as often as possible.