SEIU Endorses, Sees Green New Deal As A "Fundamental Reshaping Of Our Economy"

The SEIU’s endorsement of the “Green New Deal” is further evidence of a marked departure from unions’ past animosity toward socialism.

There was a time when the nation’s union leaders, rather than embracing it, fought hard against the various tenets of Marxism, be it socialism or communism.

Indeed, the first president of the American Federation of Labor, who saw and studied socialism first hand, once famously stated:

“I want to tell you, Socialists, that I have studied your philosophy; read your works upon economics, and not the meanest of them; studied your standard works, both in English and German—have not only read, but studied them. I have heard your orators and watched the work of your movement the world over. I have kept close watch upon your doctrines for thirty years; have been closely associated with many of you, and know what you think and what you propose. I know, too, what you have up your sleeve. And I want to say that I am entirely at variance with your philosophy. I declare to you, I am not only at variance with your doctrines, but with your philosophy. Economically, you are unsound; socially, you are wrong; industrially, you are an impossibility.”

Unfortunately, many of today’s unions are different.

Rather than recognizing that “socialism holds nothing but unhappiness for the human race,” as Samuel Gompers once stated, many of today’s union leaders wholeheartedly embrace it.

Consider, for example, this week’s SEIU’s resolution (in full below) in support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s so-called Green New Deal, which states, in part:

“…the Green New Deal aligns with our values and presents an unprecedented opportunity to unite the fights for environmental, racial, and economic justice and make inclusive prosperity and economic security available to all of us by calling for a fundamental reshaping of our economy.”

Further on, the SEIU states:

We believe that government has a central role to play in leading a transition to a clean economy, creating millions of good jobs, and strengthening the resilience of our communities as they prepare for and respond to climate change events.

This will require, according to the SEIU, “[f]orcing corporations that do not provide family-sustaining wages and benefits…to a table at which their workers have an equal voice in shaping their jobs and the policies that affect their lives,” as well as, “[c]ompelling corporations to contribute to a massive national investment in a new clean energy economy and to address the needs of communities of color so that no workers, families, or communities are left behind.”

While there are currently some union leaders left in America who recognize the dangers that the “Green New Deal” poses to their members jobs, none are criticizing it for what it is: a “fundamental reshaping of our economy” toward socialism.

SEIU Resolution on the Green New Deal on Scribd

Update: The SEIU is actually the second union to endorse Occasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal. The Association of Flight Attendants, which is part of the Communications Workers of America union, endorsed the resolution before the SEIU.

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