>This is not new. There is a long-standing left-right anti-free
>trade coalition in the Congress, with parallels among advocates.
>
>The left components may delude themselves as to their separateness
>and purity, but the fact remains.
>
>I don't have a problem with it. You take votes where you can get
>them, as far as Congress goes. More to the point is the policy in
>question.
Well, isn't that the danger of Washington-based politics? You're so focused on some vote or other that you stop thinking about long-term issues. Any union that makes a deal with Roger Milliken is giving up on being a social movement of any militance or seriousness. The guy is a rabid nationalist, xenophobe, and hater of unions. Of course it makes perfect sense for a xenophobe to oppose trade (though doesn't Milliken use German machinery in his mills?), but a textile union - with lots of Latino/a members at home - should be trying to work with its counterparts abroad.
You may have noticed that all this nationalist protectionism hasn't done anything to save jobs in the U.S., and that labor has pretty much lost all the major trade battles. You'd think that might lead to a strategy rethink, but apparently not.
Doug