Mr. President-elect, Colorado SEIU Local 105 awaits your apology
Give Colorado’s Service Employees International Union Local 105 the merit badge for solidarity. The labor union for more than 7,000 health care and property service workers in the state adopted an official resolution sticking up for an Indianapolis steelworkers union member who got called out by Donald Trump on Twitter.
The backstory: Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers 1999, had told reporters the president-elect “lied his ass off” when he claimed to have saved 1,100 jobs at Carrier’s plant in Indianapolis.
Not one to let things slide, Trump went after Jones personally on Twitter, saying he “has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!” In another tweet, the soon-to-be leader doubled down. “If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking.”
The Colorado union members have a partisan dislike of the Republican president, but the tweets provided them a rallying point.
“President-elect Donald Trump leveling his Twitter cannon against a private citizen who dared criticize him is a frightening new development in our democratic society, as no previous president has done something like this,” said Ron Ruggiero, SEIU Local 105’s president. “This action is an attack on unions and our members, as well as being a new threat to free speech.”
The resolution states:
Whereas, unions are living democracies in our workplaces and our communities;
Whereas, unions stand for the fundamental American values of democracy and freedom;
Whereas, unions hold dear our guaranteed Constitutional Rights of free speech, the right of assembly and to peacefully protest, a free press, all other Constitutional freedoms and the right to organize and bargain collectively;
Whereas, President-elect Donald J. Trump has irresponsibly attacked a local union leader on social media, the President of the United Steelworkers Local 1999 Chuck Jones, because he criticized him;
Whereas, as a result of these attacks, President Jones is now receiving threats to him and his family;
Therefore, be it resolved that SEIU Local 105 stands in solidarity with President Jones and the membership of USW Local 1999;
Be it further resolved, that SEIU Local 105 asserts the right of all Americans to freely offer their opinions or criticisms of any public official, including President-elect Donald Trump, as one of the precious American rights of Free Speech;
Be it further resolved that SEIU Local 105 calls upon President-elect Donald Trump to apologize to President Jones and the membership of USW Local 1999 for the harm he has caused to him, his family, and the membership.

