By Bernard Russell
Taking an anti-union approach in Michigan, Mitt Romney has lashed out against Rick Santorum for his "unapologetic defense of big labor," as his new attempt to portray his rival as a puppet to a powerful Democratic ally.
Romney has his eyes on votes that Santorum took in the Senate against national right-to-work legislation, and in support of the Davis-Bacon Act, where government contractors are required to pay the existing wage. Both votes were a strong reflection of the positions of organized labor.
On Wednesday, Romney said, "I've taken on union bosses before, and I’m happy to take them on again because I happen to believe that you can protect the interests of American taxpayers, and you can protect a great industry like automobiles without having to give in to the UAW (United Auto Workers), and I sure won't."
Over his campaign, Romney has slammed memos, saying, "I won't give in to the UAW." He went on to call Santorum "big labor's favorite senator."However, there exists a little risk in attacking labor in Michigan, where Romney hopes to expand his appeal to blue-collar voters before the state's primary on February, 28. Nearly 17.5 per cent of Michigan's workers are union members.
Also, the primary in Michigan is also open to independents and Democrats. As per past history, some Democratic union members have switched ways to affect the Republican outcome. However, union leaders have said that they do not plan to interfere in the GOP primary, and will simply ignore Romney's comments.
"We don't want to sabotage their primary. We think whoever they select won't be good for workers in Michigan," commented Albert Garrett, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He added that in the general election, unions will step up and make "very clear how we feel about Mr. 1 Per cent, Mitt Romney."
Some political labor allies believe that Romney's attack on unions and the United Auto Workers could be a bad move. "There are a lot of union members in Michigan who vote Republican," said state Representative Brandon Dillon, a Grand Rapids Democrat and strong labor backer. "He's totally miscalculating where voters are in the state."
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who had supported Romney on Friday, has however avoided joining fellow Republican governors in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana in attacking union protections in their states. Facing reelection in 2014, Snyder considers right-to-work legislation, which would ban unions from charging nonmember workers for representation, "very divisive" and not "appropriate in Michigan during 2012."
Santorum's personal affronts on labor are however mixed. Even though he has sometimes sided with unions, more often he has voted against them.
As Romney attacks unions, he has always trying to channel his fight with Santorum back toward his strong point- economic issues, said Craig Ruff, a longtime observer of Michigan politics and a senior fellow at thinktank Public Sector Consultants. He said, "It does focus attention away from social issues and toward economic issues, and maybe that’s what the campaign plan is all about: to have Romney spending more time talking about jobs and unions than abortion and ObamaCare."
The risk involved here is that independents and blue-collar Democrats could revenge his rhetoric in November. Ruff said, "If Romney were to get the nomination, many of them are Reagan Democrats, they’re going to remember his broadsides, and he’s going to weaken his ability to appeal to that group, which is very significant in number."
In his 2002 bid for Massachusetts governor, Romney sided with union members as he vowed to push for annual increases in the minimum wage. He even sought and received the support of a couple of politically potent police unions. However in Michigan, he is highlighting his battle against unions, such as banning union members from serving as government managers. Romney claims that as president, he would support federal right-to-work legislation and pull the Davis-Bacon Act.
Explaining his 1996 vote against right-to-work legislation, Santorum said that as a Pennsylvania senator, he didn't want the federal government to trample the supporting unions of state laws. On Sunday, he told Fox News, "I wasn't, as United States senator representing the state of Pennsylvania, going to go down and, by federal vote, change the law on the state. I believe the state has the right. If they want a union dues requirement, the state should be able to do that."
He however added that his position is different now.
"As a president, I (would) have a very different point of view. I would sign a national right-to-work bill because now, I’m no longer representing that state," Santorum said. "And by the way, the same thing with respect to Davis-Bacon. My feeling was, again, representing that state, which has a large segment of contractors that work under those provisions, that I would protect that right."
