Will Obama Fulfill Pledge and Walk Congress Hotel Picket Line?Randy Shawbyline‚ Dec. 01‚ 2008Organized labor provided unprecedented backing to Barack Obama this fall because activists believe he “walks the walk” rather than simply “talks the talk.” Case in point occurred in Chicago on June 16, 2007, when Obama joined a UNITE HERE Local 1 picket line at the Congress Hotel. The Congress strike began in 2003, and is the nation’s longest. After walking the line (see video here) Obama vowed to return to join the striking picketers after he was elected President. Will Obama become the first sitting President to walk a picket line? Should labor activists push him to keep this pledge, or should it use it as leverage to help secure systemic changes? The Congress Hotel strike is not the only labor campaign Obama has weighed in on – in September, he lent momentum to the campaign for free and fair union elections at California’s St. Joseph Health System, saying the hospital workers there were standing up for “American values.” As some criticize Obama’s commitment to change, it is in his fulfilling of promises to labor that may be the best test of his progressive credentials. |