Union Thug attacks Palin

Mark Hemingway talks about a speech where Union boss Richard Trumka attacked Palin for being critical of union thugs who were blocking teh clean up of the Gulf blowout.

...

Palin’s quote about thugs clearly differentiates between rank-and-file union members and union leaders. Perhaps the reason why Trumka is so offended is that he’s exactly the kind of thuggish union leader Sarah Palin was talking about. A quick history lesson:

On the orders of the United Mine Workers (UMW), 16,000 miners went on strike in 1993. One subcontractor, Eddie York (who was not a UMW member), decided it was important to support his wife and three children and crossed picket lines to get to his job. He was shot in the head as he left the job site to go home. UMW President Richard Trumka … told The Washington Times that “if you strike a match and put your finger in, common sense tells you you’re going to burn your finger.” UMW strike captain Jerry Dale Lowe was found guilty of weapons charges and conspiracy in York’s death, and York’s widow Wanda sued the union for her husband’s wrongful death. The UMW fought the lawsuit for four years, but settled with Wanda York only two days after federal prosecutors announced that they would share evidence from the criminal trial with York’s attorneys.

If Trumka doesn’t want union leaders to be called thugs, he should not have spent so many years acting like one.

Trumka's history suggest why some call union bosses thugs. When you consider that unions are responsible for blocking free trade agreements that would benefit US companies and their union employees, there is more evidence to call these guys thugs.