Labor & Employment Law

Mitch McConnell Found His Calling: Scrooge of the Year

By Mike Hall

Senate Minority Leader Mitch ?No, No, a thousand times No!? McConnell (R-Ky.) today won the role of the 2010 Scrooge of the Year. Voters selected McConnell in Jobs with Justice?s (JwJ) 11th annual contest to find the politician, CEO, corporation or politician who has done the most to ?scrooge? workers in the spirit of Ebenezer.

It was a crowded field with half a dozen other candidates, but McConnell won handily with 42 percent of the vote.  After all, he spent the year leading filibusters against unemployment insurance, job creation, health care reform, Wall Street reform, health care for 9/11 first responders, the DREAM Act, Social Security cost of living adjustments, collective bargaining rights for public safety officers and just about anything that might benefit working families.

Old Ebenezer?before he had the greed and nasty scared out of him by some otherworldly visitors?would be quite proud of McConnell?s victory.  Says JwJ Executive Director Sarita Gupta:

We hope that by being elected national Scrooge of the Year, Sen. McConnell will see the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come” and understand the dire consequences that his actions will have for generations of Americans.

The Kentucky JwJ chapter plans to deliver the Scrooge of the Year award in person to McConnell?s offices in Louisville. Want to bet they won?t be sharing eggnog under the mistletoe?

The health Insurance and pharmaceutical industry, with their single-minded focus on profits at the expense of our health, was the first runner-up, with 22 per cent f the vote.  Hyatt Hotels won 10 percent of the vote for its workplace safety record and its attempts to eliminate quality healthcare and make the recession permanent for its employees.

Other nominees included Rite Aid, Publix, and Giumarra Vineyards, and popular write-in candidates were Honeywell CEO Dave Cote and Del Monte Fresh.  Express Scripts was a candidate for Scrooge of the Year, but reached a settlement with workers and their nomination was pulled.

You can read more about all of the candidates on the Jobs with Justice website.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 20, 2010 (boomark / email).