When's Obama going to Alaska?

Keeping with this idea of Obama walking a Boeing picket line, he should also go hold a rally with USW Local 8888 in Alaska. Palin's been up-playing her down-home roots by proudly mentioning that her hubby's a member of USW, so this seems a natural opening to highlight the McCain ticket's stance on unions. Here's Leo Gerard, USW President, at theAFL blog:

Ms. Palin needs to stop trotting out her husband as an exhibit until she explains her positions on workers’ issues. Just exactly where does she stand on the Employee Free Choice Act?
Her family has benefited from her husband’s ability to be part of a labor union. Workers in labor organizations earn higher wages and are more likely to have pensions and health insurance. Because he works for BP and is a member of the USW, which collectively bargained a good contract for workers at BP, Todd Palin earns a good wage and has good health insurance. The Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for other Americans to join unions and earn better money and obtain health insurance. Polling shows that 60 percent of Americans support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Inquiring minds want to know, Ms. Palin. Where do you stand on Employee Free Choice? Where do you stand on privatization of Social Security? Where do you stand on job-killing free trade?
Are you with McCain—and against workers—on these issues? If so, you need to stop using your husband’s membership in the USW as a prop, because then his union card cannot possibly cover up your or John McCain’s worker-savaging positions.

Ted Palin's USW card is a good tool for the McCain campaign, which I bet is why they haven't made an issue of Palin's dues supporting Obama. It would be so awesome if they made a public stink about that.

Boeing Strike and Requisite Obama

PilsenProle has a good quick take on why to support the strike at Boeing. It's about time there was a major strike to stop outsourcing to China. Reading some of the comments on the tubes, I'm amazed that people can blame current economic woes on unions. I guess it's easier than knowing how dangerously unregulated financial markets are. Luckily there's a few IAM members out there posting some knowledge, but the funniest thing is this idea that Airbus should get Pentagon contracts because Boeing's workers are unreliable and won't let the company outsource jobs. So workers should shut up so the Pentagon can pay a higher premium on high-skilled jobs sent overseas. What?

Is Airbus/Northrop-Grumman a back story to the IAM and Obama relationship? Remember, IAM's President Buffenbarger deserves a lot of the blame for the meme that Obama is an elitist--him and all his latte sippin' supporters. (I like my coffee black and strong, thank you.) It seems IAM was slow to back Obama because he wasn't vocal enough on the Airbus contract. They didn't endorse him until their convention last week, with Hillary at the helm. But was Obama lukewarm on the Airbus deal because of Buffenbarger, or vice versa? What comes first, Airbus or the latte?

Obama should be filmed walking a Boeing picket line--that would get the Republican attack machine going and help put all those blue collar Palin moms back in line, as well as get the strike some added media attention.