The following letter is by Michael Gildea, Executive Director of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO. It was first published on the anti-outsourcing blog "The Modern Patriot." Two killer sentences are thes: 1) "Needless to say Miller is truly one of the bad guys"; and 2) "Miller+óGé¼Gäós anti-labor, anti-worker activities and find him unfit for any kind of labor support." Ouch!
For the entire letter from Gildea to the Virginia AFL-CIO in Richmond, click here or continue reading after the "flip." If you're a Miller supporter, though, I warn you, this letter is very, very harsh.
February 6, 2006Doris Crouse-Mays
Secretary-Treasurer
Virginia AFL-CIO
5400 Glenside Dr.
Suite E
Richmond VA, 23228Dear Doris,
Sincerest congratulations on your elevation to the new leadership position at the Virginia State AFL-CIO. If ever the Department for Professional Employees DPE) can be of assistance, please don+óGé¼Gäót hesitate to call on us.
As a follow-up to our recent conversation, we wanted to provide you with some more details about an announced Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Virginia+óGé¼GÇ¥Harris Miller.
Over the last decade DPE has frequently encountered Mr. Miller+óGé¼GÇ¥in his former capacity as President and CEO of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)+óGé¼GÇ¥ leading the charge against us, the AFL-CIO and many of our affiliated unions on many, many legislative issues.
For your information, I have attached a brief outline of what we could find out from a cursory review of available information. I+óGé¼Gäóm sure that there+óGé¼Gäós probably a lot more out there, but the specifics we have uncovered thus far should be sufficient.
On the issue of the Bush Overtime regulations, we could not specifically find information relative to the ITAA+óGé¼Gäós position. Documentation is made nearly impossible since the U.S. Department of Labor doesn+óGé¼Gäót provide an index to the organizations that filed public comments during that phase of the rulemaking process. It is hard to imagine however, that+óGé¼GÇ¥given the ITAA+óGé¼Gäós proclivities regarding other worker-related matters+óGé¼GÇ¥that the organization sat this fight out when in fact the final rules exempted an even greater number of IT professionals that had been excluded previously.
Finally, as to his views on unions, the appended article from the 6/4/01 edition of Network World says it all. Entitled +óGé¼+ôIT workers don+óGé¼Gäót need to unionize+óGé¼-¥, Miller launches into a typical anti-union screed replete with references to union bosses, attacks on seniority systems, and snide references to collective bargaining agreements and job security. He concludes his rant against unionization of tech workers with the following quote:
Unions have their place. But for today's high-tech workers, union membership would minimize job flexibility, reduce the ability to negotiate wages and stifle the creativity that has made the U.S. IT industry the world leader. High-tech workers have consistently rejected efforts to organize them and will continue to frown upon unions as a useful or desirable move.Needless to say Miller is truly one of the bad guys. Over and over again on core issues like trade, immigration, overtime protections and privatization of federal jobs, he+óGé¼Gäós not only been on the wrong side, he+óGé¼Gäós been galvanizing corporate efforts against us.
As the state AFL-CIO and the labor councils throughout the state embark on their candidate assessment process, I hope they will take into consideration Miller+óGé¼Gäós anti-labor, anti-worker activities and find him unfit for any kind of labor support.
Feel free to give this letter the widest possible circulation throughout the labor movement in the Commonwealth.
In closing, please also extend my best wishes to Brother Jim for a long and successful tenure as the new President of the Virginia AFL-CIO.
In solidarity,
Michael W. Gildea
Executive Director1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Suite 1030
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 638-0320
Fax: (202) 628-4379
Website: www.dpeaflcio.org
By the way, if you want even MORE on Harris Miller as an "anti-worker hired gun," click here for an AFL-CIO factsheet, covering Miller and labor law, outsourcing of U.S. jobs, privatization of federal jobs, etc.
[UPDATE: Michael Shear of the Washington Post weighs in on this story.]
House Democratic Caucus Members
Senate Democratic Caucus Members
Local Democratic Committee Chairs
Miller seems to support equal opportunity to be unemployed. In my opinion he is a faux Democrat.
There could possibly be another nail. If I get a bad grade in my class because I haven't been studying every night, then I'll hold Harris Miller personally responsible and the gloves will have to come off.
Harris the Weasel...I like it.
I must ask what the purpose of affirmative action is if the jobs base has deterriorated so badly? What will people compete for? Isn't it a bit odd for Miller to talk about affirmative action while destroying employment opportunity generally for all Americans? What "opportunities" is he creating in the wider economy for African-Americans who are struggling to find and hold middle class jobs? Affirmative action under these circumstances is nearly meaningless in terms of real employment opportunites anywhere outside of government jobs. The best middle class jobs are gone or going fast because of Miller and his allies in the outsourcing lobby. They are the enemy of all who strive for a middle class existence.
Harris Miller's "American Dream" was gained at the cost of millions of other Americans' dreams.
Harris Miller's wealth is the result of years spent stabbing the American middle class in the back in politics.