Bloomberg: Unions hijacked Occupy protest

[Bozita]

Source: Politico

Bloomberg: Unions hijacked Occupy protest
By MJ LEE | 11/18/11 12:15 PM EST

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested Friday that unions took over the Occupy Wall Street protest yesterday.

“A vast percentage of the people were union members protesting – some private unions and then some municipal unions – and they had you know, organized signs and leadership and that sort of thing,” Bloomberg said on WOR radio station Friday. “So it really wasn’t the protesters that have been in Zuccotti Park or that you see around the country.”

Bloomberg added, “It was just an opportunity for a bunch of unions to complain or to protest or whatever they want to do.”

The mayor warned that some of those union members, especially the municipal union members — should “step back” and realize that their salaries depend on the city’s ability to attract companies, investors and people that pay taxes.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68687.html#ixzz1e50K46m6

---

Billionaire assclown who bought himself a job dumps another load of 1%er bullshit.

[Roselma]

1. Idiot! Doesn't he know that union members

are part of the 99% and stand to gain if the Occupy movement makes inroads on the issue of income inequality. Oh...I guess he does know that, but he doesn't like it.

[tsuki]

96. No, they're the devil. They're un-American. They're the pejorative of

the day. The Dishonorable Mayor Bloomberg seeks to divide the movement into the 14%, the 30%, the 26-1/2% and whatever other working class groups he can think of to war against each other.

Fail.

[NYC Liberal]

2. LOL, "hijacked"? Unions and labor are part of what Occupy

is fighting for!

What a clueless idiot. He thinks just because he doesn't like unions, everyone doesn't. Therefore, unions being involved must be a "bad thing."

[dotymed]

32. Thank you Liberal.

Union workers, I assume (and have knowledge of) are among those on the "front lines" of many Occupy rallies. Many of them are uniquely qualified to protest the government in it's current incarnation.

Across America, Unions have been attacked for decades by the greedy r/w "takers." The very ones that expect Americans to work for a less-than-living wage, pay for outrageously priced health care, ... and to survive while they watch their Unions (that collectively bargain for living wages, health care, etc.) nearly disappear under tyranny and the upward transfer of wages to profits.

Bloomberg, you are an idiot and a "entitled" POS. That statement shows you for what you are.

[NYC Liberal]

39. I find it laughable when people like him attempt to use "union"

as a slur or insult, especially when they're talking to poor or working class Americans.

"UNIONS are involved!" as if that's supposed to be a bad thing.

Unions are involved? Right on!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

79. "Hijacked" is a term Politico used, not Mayor Berlusconi-Bloomberg

[droidamus2]

95. Actually

I think is more of the old divide and conquer. He thinks if he can get the 'protestors' pissed off because the unions are taking the lead that he can separate the two camps and keep them from presenting a united front. Unfortunately for Mayor Bloomers they are already united and nothing he says is going to change that.

[Kingofalldems]

3. It's outrageous that the 'help' dares to express themselves!

[Swede Atlanta]

4. Bloomberg is a twit.........

He may be wealthy but he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground....

He doesn't understand the structure of OWS....it isn't a hierarchy like political parties...it is a true democracy....so while union members are welcome to join and have their voices heard, the voice of one of their leaders does not have any more clout than any other individual voice. I can't see OWS allowing unions to take control of the movement.

[barbtries]

5. wow

does anyone believe him? what are his poll numbers about now?

[russspeakeasy]

21. What ever he pays for them to be..98% ?

[stlsaxman]

6. Mike's been going out to international waters again and getting very, very stoned.

[randome]

7. That has to be one of the most unproductive things to say.

To put it mildly. He must want to piss off a lot of people.

[Remember Me]

66. attempt at divide and conquer -- wedge politics

won't work, of course, but it's almost beyond their ability to resist such a temptation

[blackspade]

8. Bloomberg is such an asshole.

He is desparate to get rid of OWS.

[tblue]

60. Yeah, when is his term up?

He's toast.

[No Elephants]

113. He is already Mayor in violation of the law.

[Demoiselle]

9. Gee, I think it's great the the unions are involved.

Yes, I'd say that Ass Clown is a good title for Bloomberg.

[tblue]

61. Union = Satan to some of the 1%

It's the boogiest of boogie men. They can't stand workers having any say whatsoever. TOO BAD!

[No Elephants]

114. Please! Regardless of what you think of him, show some respect for the office.

It's Mayor Ass Clown to you.

(That was what Rethugs used to post when anyone mocked Dummya. I would tell them I had a lot of respect for the office. I love ovals. Criminal idiot unitary executives, however, not so much.)

[valerief]

10. Bloomberg and his media are a joke. nt

[Bennyboy]

11. This about labor... GOOD for them..

Maybe these kids will be less inclined to believe the lie of "Unions are bad" that I bought.

[dotymed]

34. I "bought" (and paid for) the anti-union lie for years.

While hopefully there are many Union workers there, OWS is not being usurped by any entity.

[whathehell]

97. +1 n/t

[caseymoz]

12. Can he make that line between the 1 and 99 percent any sharper?

Is he trying to suggest that the unions are shameful? Now that repubs are getting asses kicked for trying to take away collective bargaining?

Capitalism in the 20th century saved itself by morphing into consumerism. That put a wedge between people as workers and people as consumers. A person can be a slave as a worker, but still be treated as nobility when consumers. It confused people about their class identity. Something deep in Bloomberg reptile brain warns him that a repair in this rift would be bad for him and his buddies in the one percent.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Bloomberg; directly attacked the most visible symbol of the occupiers in Zuccotti Park,

that being the tents; which represented both occupation and great income disparity, this was in addition to being shelter against the cold winter a form of speech, if the occupiers were the Marines it would be the same as him attacking the monument of the flag raising on Iwo Jima.

Bloomberg knew the highly visible symbol of the tents were a powerful message in and of itself, that's why he was so determined to get rid of them in rapid fashion, so this was a direct attack against the People's First Amendment power.




When a judge; with great civil rights experience ruled that the tents could remain they got rid of the judge, so Bloomberg has little credibility in determining who the occupiers of Zuccotti Park are and who they aren't.

Thanks for the thread, Bozita.

[The Last Democrat]

19. Unions

Labor is playing a big part in this movement, and good for them. Wait till election time he’ll see unions playing a big part in that also.

[AZ Progressive]

44. /

[Uncle Joe]

108. That's good but not applicable, the symbol of the tents weren't there in a vacuum.

They were a most visible supporter of both the message and the trade mark of the Occupier protest movement.

Though out history "occupations" have been symbolized by the world's armies' use of tents for encampment.

Furthermore tents are a fragile, temporary shelter and this is in synchronization with the most extreme victims; that being the homeless of modern society and this ties in to our outrageous, out of whack levels of income disparity; and its' devastating effect on U.S. society at large.

In the late 1980s CEOs were making on approximately 29x the salary of their average worker, today they make over 400xs.

Income disparity and corporate supremacy over the people have been prime messages of he occupier protest movement, Bloomberg and the antagonistic PTBs know this and they also knew the tents were a potent and effective symbol in and of themselves because it tied in strongly with the message and the name of the movement.

[Uncle Joe]

109. P.S. Not to mention the foreclosure crisis and subsequent bailout of the villain banksters while the

social safety net for the people gets shredded, this has been a prime message of the occupy movement and ties directly into to the tent (fragile shelter) symbol as well.

Also welcome to D.U.:hi:

[formercia]

14. What is Bloomer putting in his Kool-Aide?

:spray:

[cyberpj]

106. Full Strength Koch. nt

[onehandle]

15. The 99% is everyone but you and the rest of the 1%. Including union members.

Get a clue.

[MasonJar]

16. This action of unions in conjunction with Occupy has been in the

planning for weeks. What a fool Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor, is.

[freshwest]

17. Spoken like a guy who never got his hands dirty, just his soul. Typical GOP.

:puke:

[girl gone mad]

18. He's a funny guy.

[Amonester]

27. Yep. I wonder what the President would say about him if he ruled...

Tunis instead of NYC...

[shraby]

Apparently he didn't watch Tim Pool on the internet at

<http://www.ustream.tv-TheOther99>
Pool kept us up to date constantly by marching with the marchers, uniting with the Unions about 5 p.m.

[SoapBox]

20. Hey...Mayor 1%...STFU!

...what an ass hole.

AND, sock puppet for the richest of the rich.

[dtexdem]

22. And as Bloomberg knows, union members don't have 1st Amendment rights.

Now, I do forget where in the Constitution it says that, though. ;-)

[Danse]

23. Sure thing Mikey

Goes to show that money can't buy everything. Least of all integrity. What -- unions are a bad thing now? You mean those dastardly orgs that gave us weekends?

This guy is one of the most clownish, imbecilic political figures in recent memory. In light of the incessant police brutality I'm trying to picture him as an imposing figure, but he just comes across as a silly little twerp.

And to think, if this douche separated himself from merely a fraction of his wealth, he could single-handedly solve many of the world's problems.

There is something seriously wrong with this picture -- that one man, let alone a ridiculous little clown like Bloomberg -- is permitted by society to have this much money and power.

Mikey is the EPITOME of the 1%.

[xxqqqzme]

38. He suffers from hoarding, along

w/ about 400 other people. We need a HA group for them - "Hi my name is Mike and I'm a hoarder'.

[Spazito]

24. Gee, how ironic that Bloomberg seems to think union members are not members of the public....

citizens....but corporations are. Gee, imagine that.

What a POS and an ever increasingly desperate one at that.

[qb]

25. He's just invoking the Right Wing "mean scary union" meme.

His asshattery is so transparent.

[Enrique]

33. yes, an attempt to delegitimize the movement

we're not biting. :thumbsup:

[baldguy]

26. Like belonging to a union is a crime now?

[julian09]

42. Was he on that coordinated conference call with other mayors

to Raid OWS sites around the country. Talk about taking over OWS by rationing rights, with checkpoints and other oppressive measures.
Of course union members were present, he sent them, in cop form.

[baldguy]

58. If we had a Congress which actually represented the People, there would be some investigations.

Do you think Bloomberg would ignore a Congressional subpoena?

[No Elephants]

115. If we had a government that actually represented the people, there would have been no need for OWS.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

28. The tiny emperor doesn't know when just to shut the fuck up. nt

[davidthegnome]

29. What a creep

That man is a vile, lying traitor.

[ooglymoogly]

30. Bloomberg is looking at OWS through the wrong end of a very long

telescope, in which he sees the protesters as midgets...when in fact it is he, that is the midget and OWS is an unfathomable giant which just keeps on growing. It is time to recall this midget.

[Hissyspit]

31. FUCK YOU BLOOMBERG

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2310834

[AZ Progressive]

35. What an Abuse of Language. Unions are bad? Then why do Europeans have far better living standards?

Europe is much more unionized than the U.S., and they enjoy universal healthcare (with no financially threatening medical bills), cheaper higher education, better pay (for the middle and working class), mandatory paid vacation time, much more vacation time, around 6 months paid maternity leave, etc...

Without unions, workers don't have much bargaining power with their employers, and in fact employers have lots of power to abuse their workers, so clearly Bloomberg once again shows how he's for the 1% and is virtually saying "fuck you" to the 99%.

[Deep13]

36. Bullshit. Go away Bloomberg. You don't matter anymore. nt

[DonCoquixote]

37. Remember

He is NOT appealing to common sense, but rather to the Fox news types that have seen Unions as a form of communism since day one. He also wants to dispel the idea that common, everyday people, many of whom considered themselves right wing before the Tea party, are finding themselves poor.

[jtuck004]

40. Your opponents went from 20 thousand to 2 million pretty fast there, bub.

They got bigger today. Bigger than your inflated sense of, well, yourself.

Wonder who will “step back” first?


:rofl:

[Liberalynn]

41. Lets Face It Mikey

You and your fellow ffing millionaire buddies are going to crap on the Unions anyway whether they march or not. You are just mad that they aren't going to simply stand there and take it, just to make it easier on you.

:thumbsdown: Here's to you Mikey

[madrchsod]

43. he`s a billionaire dickhead...

[stillrockin]

45. Bloomie's full of shit.

[AZ Progressive]

46. Bloomberg shouldn't be called "Mayor Bloomberg", he should be called "Billionaire Bloomberg"...

...Or Mayor 1% (like someone else said here), or something that mentions how he's part of the 1% or the 100th of 1%, basically a member of the ruling class. Or, given his behavior lately, Tyrant Bloomberg, Emperor Bloomberg, etc...

[SleeplessinSoCal]

80. I just like calling him Mayor Berlusconi.

[kestrel91316]

47. Was he born this stupid or did he have to take special lessons?

[kestrel91316]

48. Was he born this stupid or did he have to take special lessons?

[Iggo]

49. Are unions not part of the 99%?

Try again, Mr Billionaire.

[slay]

50. Wow what an out of touch, privileged idiot Bloomberg is - the unions ARE part of the 99%

this guy is a dick, a criminal, and out of touch with normal people in a frightening and pathetic kind of way.

[slay]

51. Did he just issue a veiled threat to the unions?

sure looks that way to me:

"The mayor warned that some of those union members, especially the municipal union members — should “step back” and realize that their salaries depend on the city’s ability to attract companies, investors and people that pay taxes."

[DonCoquixote]

110. The same ones

That move everywhere from Tampa to Texas to New Jersey when they do not get 110 percent of what they want?

[bowens43]

52. what a clueless idiot.

they too are the 99% and they have been under attack by the 1% for decades.

[Roy Rolling]

53. Bloomberg the Hijacker

It is Bloomberg who is a hijacker. In New Orleans, he is spending his money to back a candidate for a school election. He is hijacking the process by sticking his nose into a political race 2000 miles away.

And on Bloomberg TV this morning they opined that there are 61,000 millionaires in New York City but there were only 2,000 Occupy protesters. Even the NYPD estimated the crowd at 36,500 protersters. So which is it? 2,000 or 36,500 union-hijacked protesters? You can't have it both ways and tell one audience one version and another audience a different version.

[county worker]

54. Hey! Bloomberg! Unions are part of the 99%!

They just don't get it do they?

[FunMe]

55. The 99% have seen the enemy of the people and it is OLIGARCH mayor Bloomberg

His remarks are going to make it ever so easy for New Yorkers to get rid of him. Good!

[Skittles]

56. LOLOL

he is SOOOOO easily threatened :rofl:

[krispos42]

57. Yes, and...?

I fail to see why this is a) bad, or b) unexpected.

[Dover]

59. Oh for blooming sakes! The unions just happened to be hitchhiking

on the same road OWS was travelling and we picked 'em up. Hey, they needed a ride and we had
this enormous bus full of Americans heading in the same direction...

Always ready to help a brother in need...and hopefully if the bus ever breaks down the unions
will help get it running again. Or we'll all get out and push!

[orbitalman]

62. Excuse me readers... Bloomberg is SO full of shit...

But then he's just trying to protect his one percentage point with his big bat position. He must be gotten rid of with his bat.

[AllyCat]

63. Union and proud. 99% and proud. We are all the 99% and he is 1%

I'm glad to see the unions out there fighting because many here at DU thought they "weren't doing anything" for OWS. Well, guess what? Yes, we are! So what FatCat Bloomberg?

[dadzilla]

64. So let me get this straght.

If your a union member, you surrender your first amendment rights? Here's guessing he may regret those words.

[jberryhill]

65. Awww.... Bloomberg was going to join the protest otherwise

Dang.

[abelenkpe]

67. He is gifted at making himself look like a buffoon. Nt

[The Wizard]

85. He not only looks like a buffoon

He plays one in real life. Mayor Buffoonberg

[Devil_Fish]

68. The Unions are the 99% and though I don't speak for every one, I belive that OWS welcomes them. NT

[Bozita]

103. I'd like to steal that graphic for future use!

[Hubert Flottz]

69. Chamber of Commerce hijacked the GOP and the so called...

"Independents" and Blue Dog Democrats.

Bloomberg is just like Rudy a corporate Nazi!

[Irishonly]

70. Stupid, stupid madman

I am learning you can't fix stupid.

[Hubert Flottz]

72. Oh yes you can!

But it's usually not a pretty sight!

[Irishonly]

77. LOL

[kenfrequed]

71. STFU bloomberg

You are already a free trade, anti union, greedy, frigging plutocrat. You have no frigging perspective to talk about OWS.

[clayton72]

73. Better have people bring their bank statements to prove they're part of the 99%

[watajob]

74. Oh, the horror! The humanity!!!

A UNION helping people to organize so the can stand up to... Wait a minute... Never mind! :D

[marmar]

75. He's losing it.

nt

[patrice]

76. Paternalistic bigotry,as though people're incapable of recognizing their own interests around unions

[freshwest]

104. If the unions incorporate, will they become people too? Only corporations have freedom of speech!

[patrice]

78. Hey Mike, which characterizations of the 1% would you object when applied to you? Why do you get to

pick and choose how others are wrong about you, but Unions aren't allowed to stand for themselves?

Answer: His Highness Mike Bloomberg has enough money to rule what people's perceptions will be and the rest of us don't.

[MilesColtrane]

81. Hey, Mikey!

Fucking suck it.

:hi:

[workinclasszero]

82. Fuck off Bloomberg!

Union workers are the 99% you jackass!

Union workers, students, minorities, the homeless, working poor and the former middle class in this country and around the world who have lost everything to the capitalist pigs on wall street are going to bring you 1%ers to your knees...soon!

[JBoy]

83. Every day he has to talk about it - is one more day that he's losing the fight.

[TBF]

84. Scared, Mikey?

Good.

[mikeburetta]

86. organised?

ok I get it now bloomberg is ok with occupy as long as there not organised not unionised and most important as long as there on the fringe but if they do get organised if they do get mass support and yes yes if they do get union support then uh oh this has gotta be stopped.. hmmm scot walkers spirit movin in new york now.... hmm tell bloomberg what wisconsin is telling scott walker we are the people and were gpoing to give "YOU" walking papers so be on notice mayor!

[Enthusiast]

87. I support union participation!

Bloomberg is protecting the criminals.

[stillwaiting]

88. Manhattan Mike continues his propagandistic assault against the average American

Everything he fights for hurts the average American.

Everything he fights against actually helps the average American.

Sad.

[socialist_n_TN]

117. And that's life in the dictatorship of capital

I'll even go farther than what you said. Everything that HELPS the average American AT THE EXPENSE OF THE 1% will be ILLEGAL.

[Tutankhamun]

89. And the ridiculous RW "unions are evil" meme therefore applies to

The 99%.

I propose a new RW line of attack. A whole new meme, Mr. Bloombarf: "Down with the evil 99%!" You should be able to rally the Republican voters with that one.

[Doc Holliday]

90. Bloomberg. He's a sketch, all right.

As Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon!"

Typical prostitician. This jerk is a better recruiter for the OWS movement than Bush was for Al-Qaeda.

[abq e streeter]

91. Dear Mayor Bloomberg, from abq e streeter : Go Dick Cheney yourself.

[Prometheus Bound]

92. Will no one step up and defend Mr One Percent, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg?

Anyone?

[KamaAina]

93. Dude, you've got well over a billion dollars.

Buy a clue. :eyes:

[EC]

94. Is that a threat Mr. Mayor?

Union members don't take kindly to threats.

[slay]

100. That's what I thought too!

sure seemed like a veiled threat to me!

[fascisthunter]

98. Amazing how ignorant idiots get wealthy

it really has nothing to do with being better than anyone else... what a fraud.

[applegrove]

99. First it was acorn (poor black people) leading OWS and now it it unions. Will

the right not give up?

[No Elephants]

121. The right? Do you remember what happened to ACORN?

An overwhelmingly Democratic Congress enacted an unconstitutional law, yes, with the help of Rethugs, to cut off ACORNs funding and a Democratic President and former Constitutional law professor and former community organizer who worked with ACORN to register voters in Chicago, who probably voted for him in state and federal elections, signed it.

Sure, one lone guy from the right in a fur piece doctored a video, but that did not force Democrats to do what they did.

If the 99% is ever going to get anywhere, we have to look at facts.

[snot]

101. Agree with all above; plus, he's just flat wrong about the composition of the crowd.

I know from watching throughout much of the day that the crowd from Zuccotti picked up a large number of students at Union Square and were estimated at the point to be at least a few thousand -- the crowd appeared to fill Union Square and spill out into the streets, and that place isn't small -- before they even got to Foley Square, where they picked up the unions. It was also abundantly clear that a lot of people showed up from who knows where -- just regular people who converged on the city to show their support for OWS -- starting around 3pm, it seemed like every time the original marchers turned a corner, it was omigod, here's a whole 'nother big bunch more people.

You don't get 36,000 on a Wednesday without broad participation.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg claimed he expected no more than 1,000 people. But he'd mustered an army of cops, far more than what I'd think anyone could imagine necessary to police a mere 1,000 peaceful protesters.

[unionworks]

102. the little dictator

...hath spoken

[Brigid]

105. Hey Mikey . . .

Why don't you just go back to your fancy men's club or wherever you hang out with your clueless investment-buddies and just STFU! :grr:

[Warren Stupidity]

107. How did 'unions' become a dirty word? WTF?

Where exactly in the levels of rightwing hell are unions with respect to dirty filthy hippies? Are they higher up, or lower down?

[DonCoquixote]

111. and this is the guy Nader

wants to run for President:

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/83658/ralph-nader-wants-mike-bloomberg-to-run-for-president/

a quote:

"In area after area, you know, whether it’s consumer fairness, single payer health insurance, full medicare for all, for example, cracking down on corporate crime, a really new kind of tax system, the two parties are too hooked into the establishment, the corporate state that they can’t change. And so, if you ever put that agenda out in front of people it would be spectacular, especially if the candidate had enough money to reach those people. … Let’s say a Bloomberg runs, it would be a three way race in every sense of the term, because he could write a check for $500 million.”

Nader was great in the 70's, but he is a grade a tool now.

[No Elephants]

116. Actually, Nader said only that he would like to see many running for President

and named some people as examples.

[DonCoquixote]

119. He mentioned Bloomberg

as I quoted...He could have picked a Ham sandwich over Bloomberg and made more sense.

[No Elephants]

120. No, not as you quoted. Exactly as my post said.

First, your post contained no quote at all, only your characterization of what Nader said; and your characterization did not convey the correct impression.


Your post said this is THE guy Nader wants to run for President, as though Bloomberg were Nader's favored candidate, and/or his only candidate. That gave a false impression of what Nader actually said, so my post provided the context to correct.

As far as Nader's including Bloomberg among a variety of other people, so the hell what? He mentioned a number of examples. That does not mean he wanted Bloomberg to win. In fact, it's pretty clear from Nader's entire life's work that he is on the side of the 99% and against any government that repeatedly fails them, be it by allowing auto manufacturers to manufacture vehicles are "unsafe at any speed," or by having the two political parties become more and more similar--and not in a good way.

His actual point was clear: voters should have a range of choices.

God forbid anyone in the U.S. recommends real democracy.

[No Elephants]

112. None so blind as those who refuse to see.

[socialist_n_TN]

118. You say that like it's a bad thing Mikey

Just wait till the unions join the Occupy movement in MILITANT actions. Then you'll be shitting your silken Depends.

Just wait until Occupy Oakland, LA and the other west coast Occupy GAs are hooking up with the ILWU to shut down west coast ports. That's something that could spread WIDELY.