Forbes: Labor Leaders On Whether They’ll Honor Huffpo Boycott

[Omaha Steve]

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/2011/03/24/labor-leaders-on-whether-theyll-honor-huffpo-boycott/

Jeff Bercovici

Mar. 24 2011 - 3:04 pm

Solidarity with workers everywhere is the bedrock tenet of the labor movement. So when the Newspaper Guild asked its 34,000 members to stop providing free content to the Huffington Post, labor leaders everywhere took notice — even the ones who happen to have their own Huffpo blogs.

That group includes Richard Trumka, president of the 12.2 million member AFL-CIO, and Leo W. Gerard, president of United Steelworkers, which claims 1.2 million members. Neither has updated his blog since the Newspaper Guild sounded the call.



Gerard, via a spokesman, tells me he won’t be contributing to Huffpo as long as the strike is in effect. Here’s his statement:

It is my understanding from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), that its subsidiary, The Newspaper Guild, is asking its members to support the virtual picket line but is not requesting that other organizations honor it. As a labor leader, however, I would have a hard time crossing any picket line, even a virtual one. So, for the time being anyway, I will honor The Newspaper Guild’s virtual picket line.

An AFL-CIO spokesman, meanwhile, tells me Trumka is aware of the boycott, and it’s “something we’re looking more into.”