Was it a labor win or not?
Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Jerry Roper is right in one sense…
Labor unions are claiming victory after this week’s twelve aldermanic runoffs in Chicago. Most candidates who received union backing won their races.
But Jerry Roper with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce says it’s not that cut and dried.
ROPER: With all of the money that was spent on these elections, look how close they were. So there was no real huge victories there.
Roper says election results reflect voter dissatisfaction with specific aldermen. He says they’re not a mandate for labor issues like the so-called big box living wage ordinance.
The victorious challengers did not win based on labor’s top issues like the big box ordinance. They won mainly because they ran very good campaigns and the incumbents were out of touch hacks.
But most of those challengers would never have even been in the game without labor’s money and precinct work. Labor recruited several of the candidates and dumped millions of dollars into their races. They ran good campaigns at least in part because organized labor helped them do so.
Meanwhile Eric Krol tells us that the Milk Man came up short yet again…
Dairy magnate Jim Oberweis, a three-time statewide electoral loser, still can’t catch a break. The two candidates he backed in the big District 214 school board race both lost.
- Pat Hickey - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 9:37 am:
Jerry Roper hits the nail on the head. SEIU demands that it be considered synonymous with Labor. Denny Gannon is already being shoved into theshadows by the Purple Gang.
SEIU spent $1.8M and did what ???? Got rid of the Hat - that could have been done for much less. Shirley Coleman shot her own toes off - repeatedly and Brookins???? SEIU Leader Jones got his butt handed to him.
Only the media ‘The Fresh Air’ Crowd and their wannabees view the Stern Gang as Labor. But SEIU’s megaphone rhetoric really works on lazy journalists - thankfully it does not on most people who know how to read.
- Skeeter - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 9:50 am:
The union money definitely played a big role in the Reilly victory. Without it, the outcome would have been much more in doubt. However, the Big Box ordinance played a very minor role. Reilly made it clear that he was anti-Big Box.
That being said, there is a distinction between being friendly to unions on Big Box and being generally friendly to unions. The new aldermen may not rubber stand everything that the unions want, but clearly will be more receptive to what they have to say.
For a few years now, Chicago city government has been relatively hostile to unions. At least in 42, that outright hostility will be replaced by a willingness to work with labor to accomplish labor’s goals, even if not every demand is met.
Finally, anytime that almost 20% of the city counsel is replaced, and it is done mainly with money from one source, that source surely should be considered the outcome a victory. It is tough to knock off sitting alderman, and the unions did it a lot this cycle.
- Number 8 - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 9:57 am:
Jerry Roeper is normally one of the more rational voices in the business community, and I respect his opinion. However, he is werong on this one. Beating the machine in one race by one vote is a serious statement. HAving labor backed candidates win in all of these races is significant.
- 42nd Ward Resident - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 9:58 am:
I think it’s accurate to say it was a big win for labor, but that labor issues had little to do with it.
Whether that means it was a big win for labor issues, only time will tell.
- Levois - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 10:18 am:
I think I’ll give labor credit for making a lot of races around the city a lot closer than they would have been. I just hope this is the wave of the future that interest groups have a hand in shaking up elections in the city.
- Tom B. - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 11:42 am:
First of all, the ulitmate responsibility lays at the feet of the candidates, as it always has in any election.
But setting that aside for a second, you have to look at this election race by race and only when you have everything equal (competent candidate, campaign staff, money, etc.) and labor’s presence, can you call it a win.
In other words, if labor isn’t there, does that Alderman still lose?
- ArchPundit - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 11:46 am:
Can we dispense with the notion that Oberweis cares about the 214 race. Jack Roeser cares about the race so Oberweis cares that Jack cares.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 12:03 pm:
===In other words, if labor isn’t there, does that Alderman still lose?===
In many cases, if labor wasn’t there, the alderman’s opponent wouldn’t even exist.
- ZC - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 12:19 pm:
Definitely a win for labor, especially on the South Side. The story on the North Side is a bit more mixed and unclear, since sometimes labor ran more of a “stealth” campaign - can anywhere here testify as to the true relationship between Waguespack and labor? What was going on in 32nd, in terms of where Waguespack’s election-day / organization / finances came from, and how much credit can labor claim for it?
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 12:45 pm:
The only way that labor can claim credit for the victory in 32 is if Rep. Fritchey is considered a union boss
- Punley Dieter Finn - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 12:50 pm:
It will be a Labor victory when there are 34 Aldermen who vote to override a Mayoral veto and enact a big box or living wage ordinance. Until then, a majority of the Alderman who were elected in 2007 appear to be reliable supporters of the Mayor. Anyone else have a different roll call today?
- Garp - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 3:05 pm:
Rich Miller is 100% correct. If labor wasn’t there, many of the candidates wouldn’t have been either. Many Alderman who backed the unions on the big box are thanking there stars they did. For example Levar on the Northwest side stood up to Daley for the first time and it paid off. He had a close election and if labor went against him he would have been toast. Don’t think that lesson wasn’t learned across the board by all the Council. This was a big win for labor with lasting affects.
- Jerry - Friday, Apr 20, 07 @ 3:11 pm:
Roper got his rear handed to him. His little dreams of employees streaming out of Loop offices and going to canvassing for incumbents across the city were crushed. He couldn’t even get rid of his nemesis, Joe Moore.