Mitt Romney’s “Multi-millionaire Express” is coming to Redwood City tonight for a high-dollar fundraiser with the likes of failed gubernatorial candidate Meg “Wall Street” Whitman. But it may not be all champagne wishes and caviar dreams for Mitt and his rich buddies tonight as the controversy involving one of his campaign’s key advisors continues to grow.
The Inspector General issued a report Friday finding that National Labor Relations Board member Terence Flynn improperly leaked confidential material on board deliberations. The report details numerous instances of then-chief counsel Flynn funneling confidential information about the labor board’s activities and deliberations, including attorney-client privileged information, to two former NLRB members who have been actively engaged in a relentless campaign to undermine and discredit the NLRB through legal and rhetorical challenges to the agency’s activities. One of those former board members is Romney advisor Peter Schaumber. The report makes clear that Schaumber used the information to publicly attack the NLRB.
California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski:
This type of unethical behavior may be acceptable in the corporate culture of Bain Capital, but certainly it shouldn’t be tolerated from those involved in a campaign for our nation’s highest office. If Gov. Romney fails to condemn the actions of Mr. Flynn and Mr. Schaumber and take the appropriate action, it’s as good as a seal of approval on the use of unethical practices to advance his campaign.
Romney has been a vocal critic of the NLRB, even going so far as to call for the elimination of the board’s funding.
While Mitt might think he’s safe from criticism over the controversy and his growing hostility to workers behind the walls of the Hotel Sofitel, a group of workers affiliated with the San Mateo Labor Council will do their best to make sure he gets the message that his anti-worker views and his campaign’s unethical practices aren’t going to be tolerated in California. The workers will highlight Romney’s extreme positions, which include calling for a national “Right to Work for Less” law, repealing prevailing wage laws and backing efforts to strip workers of collective bargaining rights.
San Mateo Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Shelley Kessler:
Multi-millionaire Mitt doesn’t know the first thing about the struggles working people are facing in this economy, and it shows. Workers are the backbone of this country and deserve a president who will look out for their interests, not the special interests of the corporate elite that are fully responsible for cratering our economy.
