Courtesy of the AFL-CIO blog:
Who’s sticking up for striking writers? Not presidential candidate Ron Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas.
Paul became the first presidential candidate to cross the picket line of the Writers Guild yesterday when he appeared on ABC’s “The View.”
The television writers have been on strike since Nov. 5, seeking a fair share of revenue from online broadcasts, DVDs and other electronic formats. The union returned to the bargaining table yesterday in the continuing effort to achieve a fair contract. While so far no other Republican candidate has crossed a picket line, none has made a significant effort to support striking workers this year.
Other 2008 presidential candidates have taken a different approach: They’ve honored the writers’ picket line, and some have walked with workers on strike. Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and his wife Elizabeth canceled appearances on “The View” to honor the picket line, as did Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who was scheduled to appear on the show today. The Democratic National Committee last week announced it would cancel a planned Dec. 10 debate due to a potential strike by ABC News writers and staff. Both Obama and John Edwards marched alongside striking hotel workers in Chicago earlier this year, and all Democratic candidates except Mike Gravel issued statements in support of the 73,000 striking workers at General Motors in September.
This year, Paul voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to exercise their freedom to form a union.
All major Democratic presidential candidates support the Employee Free Choice Act, while the Republican candidates have either voted against it, expressed opposition to it or not taken a position.
