Kyrsten Sinema Gets Dragged By Progressives For Seeking Anti-Union Talking Points: ‘This is What Workers Are Up Against’

Michael LucianoApr 22nd, 2021, 5:11 pm
 

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is taking broadsides from progressives on Twitter after a clip of her soliciting anti-union talking points from business leaders surfaced.

Appearing virtually at an April 7 meeting of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Sinema was asked about the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. The PRO Act would strengthen labor unions by taking aim at so called right-to-work laws that allow free riding, whereby those who decline to pay union dues nonetheless enjoy the protections of the union. The bill would also make it easier for workers to unionize and would crack down on anti-worker activity in part by allowing National Labor Relations Board to levy fines on businesses that violate labor laws.

The PRO Act has not been well received by much of the business community, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce event showed as much. Sinema was asked by the event’s host if she’d “be willing to have a discussion with employers in Arizona about our concerns about this bill being a disruption to the workplace and to our business environment.”

This was her response:

I would welcome such a discussion. As folks who are listening today know, the way I make decisions on behalf of Arizona and for our constituents is by listening to the business leaders who will be impacted by these decisions. So I want to discuss this legislation and I want to know the impact it would have on Arizona jobs and the economy.

[…]

So I would ask all the members who are joining us today to please stay involved with my office and help me by sharing information about how this would impact you and your company, so that I can go back to Senate leadership and folks on both sides of the aisle to discuss the concerns that Arizona businesses have.

Noticeably absent from Sinema’s response was any talk of listening to workers. Moreover, her remarks came roughly a month after she was one of a handful of Democratic senators to vote against raising the federal minimum wage to $15 and drew the ire of progressives by literally giving the measure a thumbs down whilst curtsying before turning around and strutting out of the senate chamber.

Needless to say, her remarks at the event have further rankled progressives:

Yes, Keith Olbermann just accused someone else of self-destructing. Anyway, back to our programming…

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Michael Luciano - Senior Editor

Mike is a Mediaite senior editor who covers the news in primetime. Follow him on Bluesky.