JobKeeper Alliance Raises Concerns

Unlikely partnerships rarely occur in the realm of politics these days. Increasing polarization has left the battle lines pretty clearly drawn and the ideological gulf between opposing sides too far to cross in most cases. So when I read a couple of weeks ago on the Montgomery Advertiser website the headline “Unlikely allies come together to support jobs,” it caught my attention.

“Business groups and a former labor leader came together on Monday to announce the formation of a nonprofit group aimed at helping create and preserve middle-class jobs in Alabama.” The article proclaimed. “JobKeeper Alliance is the idea of Stewart Burkhalter, who recently retired after 17 years as the president of the Alabama AFL-CIO.”

My eyebrows raised.

Alabama owes much of its flourishing business climate to its status as a right-to-work state. So any time Burkhalter & co. make a move, I think it’s worth noting. I clicked through to jobkeeperalliance.org to get more information.

“The idea for the alliance came from Stewart Burkhalter who began organizing JobKeeper in late 2011 after retiring from his post as president of the Alabama ALF-CIO. Burkhalter reached out to George Clark, a longtime friend and president of Manufacture Alabama and asked him to serve as a JobKeeper board member. After discussing Burkhalter’s goals and vision for JobKeeper, Clark accepted the offer and the two went to work building the organization.”

Wait, what?

Burkhalter is a union man through and through. Why is Manufacture Alabama, an organization that represents big businesses, teaming up with a a lifetime union organizer who is the immediate past President of AFL-CIO, an organization whose relationship with major manufacturers is probably contentious at best?

Burkhalter is also a lifelong Democrat. He is a past Vice Chairman of the Alabama Democrat Party and was a superdelegate in the 2008 election. When Burkhalter was asked what the highlight of his political activities had been, he said, “Being in Denver when Obama made his acceptance speech. It was just something that you can’t really describe.” Why does it make sense for Manufacture Alabama to partner with a well-known liberal past Vice Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party when it seems like they should be cultivating a closer relationship with the new GOP majority?

Manufacture Alabama appears to be operating out the old playbook, but it will be worth keeping an eye on this partnership to see if there are other factors at play.

Last session the legislature passed HB 64, a constitutional amendment that ensures private ballots in all elections — including union elections. Constitutional amendments must be approved by the voters so this amendment will be on the ballot in November.

Burkhalter’s AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Al Henley reacted to HB 64 by saying, “This bill is another misrepresentation by the majority in their handshake with Alabama. It has nothing to do with strengthening Alabama’s already horrible right-to-work law.”

That tells you where Burkhalter & co. stand on Alabama’s right-to-work status and on the importance of private ballots.

So again, what’s really going on here? How do Manufacture Alabama’s members benefit from this partnership? Is Burkhalter trying to use the business community as a way to legitimize himself and the unions politically?

If the manufacturing community starts readily accepting Burkhalter and his ilk, it could turn into a slippery slope they don’t want to go down.

The UAW, AFL-CIO, and the steel workers are making a strong effort to unionize ship building, automobile manufacturers, suppliers, and other important Alabama industries. We should always pay attention to any potential back-door ways to challenge our right-to-work status.