Palin Not Alone in Bashing Community OrganizersRandy Shawbyline‚ Sep. 11‚ 2008After Sarah Palin used her acceptance speech to belittle community organizers, activists responded with newspaper editorials, mass emails, and even a button saying, “Jesus was a Community Organizer, Pontius Pilate was a Governor.” But Palin’s attack on activists working for economic and social justice is part of a broader conservative strategy, one currently being used by California’s giant St. Joseph's Health System (St. Joseph’s) in trying to thwart a union organizing drive by SEIU-UHW. Like Palin, who cites her husband’s United Steelworkers membership to obscure her anti-union agenda, St Joseph’s claims to support workers rights while attacking SEIU-UHW’s union organizing drive. St. Joseph’s argues that there is one “moral” way to do community organizing, and that taking on an entire hospital system, rather than one hospital at a time, is not “principled” organizing. As onetime advocates for the United Farmworkers with connections in the progressive community, St. Joseph’s is pioneering a new “message” for anti-union conduct, one that deserves far greater scrutiny in light of Palin’s high-profile remarks. |