Labor Torn on Super Bowl Protests
Indiana's Right-to-Work Bill Irks Unions, but Some Hesitate to Make Big Game a Political Football
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By DOUGLAS BELKIN And JACK NICAS
INDIANAPOLIS—Many union sympathizers see Sunday's Super Bowl here as a golden opportunity to draw attention to a bill in the Indiana Legislature critics say would deal a serious blow to organized labor.
Union workers angry about a right-to-work bill have been protesting at the Indiana statehouse and are threatening to take their rallies to the Super Bowl on Sunday. WSJ's Doug Belkin reports. (Photo: AP)
"Union workers built that stadium, they should have the right to demonstrate in front of it," said Perry Stabler, a retired steelworker as he demonstrated inside the Indiana statehouse.
Nearby, union boilermaker Pete Etoler drew a line between protesting politicians and disrupting the highest-profile event in the Hoosier State's history. "I think it will hurt our cause," he said. "We're trying to build up Indiana and bring businesses here. That won't help."
At issue is a bill that would ban contracts that require all employees to pay union dues, making Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state in the U.S. Republicans say the bill will help attract employers to the state. Democrats say it will hurt unions and suppress wages. After a fight that started last year, Republicans in the Indiana House last week overcame Democratic efforts to block the bill. Indiana's Senate is moving quickly to pass it, too, aiming to send it to Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to sign as soon as Wednesday.
"There have been threats about the Super Bowl getting disrupted and I don't think we should give them that opportunity," said Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, a Republican. Passing the bill quickly will "make it less emotional and passionate out there," he said.
Three blocks of downtown Indianapolis have been given over to a Super Bowl Village, complete with an 800-foot-long zip line and live-music stages. City officials said 200,000 funneled through downtown last weekend and the city expects the event to generate as much as $400 million for the area economy. An 800,000-square-foot exposition called "The NFL Experience" abuts the stadium and has drawn 100,000 people this past week.
"This is a great opportunity for the city to showcase itself in front of the world and we're confident everyone will be looking to put our best interests first," said Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Indianapolis's Republican mayor, Gregory Ballard.
Already, dozens of protesters have demonstrated at the Super Bowl Village, passing out literature on the right-to-work bill, according to police. They are a hodgepodge of union members and people from Occupy movements based in various Indiana communities.
Planned demonstrations for Sunday still hinge on the fate of the right-to-work bill, said Jeff Harris, a representative of the AFL-CIO here. He said the group's members likely would continue to hand out leaflets around the event and that other groups may picket the game on Sunday.
But some union members weren't waiting around for the higher ups to tell them what to do. Tim Janko, a steelworker from northwest Indiana said he'd be in front of the stadium on game day. "I'm going to picket the Super Bowl because this is wrong," he said. "I'm going to have a Teamster drive me into town."
Demotix
Union members disagree on protesting Indiana's right-to-work bill at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Above, a related protest there last week.
On Monday, Mr. Daniels said anything that detracted from the event "would be a colossal mistake."
The tension in Indianapolis has pointed up some of the socioeconomic quirks of the big game. Tickets for Super Bowl XLVI are well out of reach for most Americans: They start at $2,150 each on the resale market and average $3,825, one of the highest ever for a Super Bowl, according to ticket aggregator TiqIQ. The city's Super Bowl host committee estimates that 65% of attendees are "corporate decision makers." About 900 private aircraft are scheduled to land at area airports this week, roughly 100 times more than average.
"The Super Bowl is the ultimate party for the 1%," said Jeff Harris, spokesman for the Indiana AFL-CIO, who said his members may hand out leaflets ahead of the game but will do nothing to disrupt it.
Meanwhile, state labor leaders and NFL players express mutual solidarity. The NFL players' union, which was locked out by owners last summer as negotiations over a new contract broke down, has called right-to-work legislation wrong for Indiana and "a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers rights."
Union leaders in the state say they are wary of disrupting the players' big day. "These guys have worked all their lives and this is their only shot," said Pete Rimsans, executive director of the Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council. "We don't want to do anything that could ruin that."
Drawing attention away from the Super Bowl risks alienating some of the very people unions might hope to win over.
Demonstrating "is a bad decision," said Kris Faust, 37, who works in a nonunion brake-manufacturing plant, as he stood outside Lucas Oil Stadium. "The Super Bowl is basically like a holiday. You work hard all year…and you and your family want your holiday off."
But some union backers said demonstrating is worth the risks.
"They'll catch some flak for it but I think it's important symbolically," said John Russo, a professor of labor studies and co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University in Ohio.
Write to Douglas Belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com and Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com
Note that former New York City OTB Manager, Barry Yomtov, sold the cash stream of Teamsters Local 858 to Kevin McCaffrey President of Teamsters Local 707 in return for a paid position as Business Agent.
When NYC OTB went Bankrupt, members of Teamsters Local 858, Barry Yomtov President, lost their jobs and Local 858 lost its cash flow and ceased to exist. It should also be noted that famous fearless Union President Kevin McCaffrey is also Deputy Village Mayor and Trustee of the Village of Lindenhurst and could obtain or cause to be obtained the Opinion of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for FREE!!
Let's Bet that Eric Schneiderman will Opine that he will not defend the constitutionality of NY PML Sec 105 and that it does not even apply to the OTBs, public benefit corporations.
Remember the good old days when Barry Yomtov, New York City OTB Manager, could chose whether to work or not on any Sunday and be paid double time. Not all New York City OTB employees could sell the cash flow and live on as Business Agents. Right to work? Right to work at any OTB in NY on any day when tracks are running anywhere in the US that bettors want to bet. Also note that Suffolk OTB is trying to file for bankrupty. Come to New York and laugh at these guys as New York State and its subdivisions become ever more insolvent. Any wonder?
Dear Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:
The Bettors of the State of New York and the employees of the remaining OTBs, public benefit corporations, have no standing to ask for your Opinion to the following simple questions with seemingly obvious answers::
1. Will the Attorney General defend the constitutionality of NY PML Sec 105?
2. Does NY PML Sec 105 apply to Nassau OTB?
3. Does NY PML Sec 105 violate the rights of New York Bettors secured by NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3?
4. Is NY PML Sec 105 vague, indefinite and/or overly broad as the term "Easter Sunday" does not define one and only one Sunday in all years (see eg Gregorian and Julian Calendars)?
I hope that you will sua sponte issue an Opinion as to the above so that bettors may bet, workers may work or not as they wish, and the State and its subdivisions make money. There are tracks running all across the United States every day of the year that bettors want to bet. Track calendars may be found at eg www.ntra.com. The OTBs also sell New York Lottery tickets which are drawn every day of the year. The OTBs also cash non IRS Lottery tickets in cash for any sum, a convenience for many Lotto Players.
It is critical in these current time that the OTBs are open when customers want to bet. I believe that your Opinion will belatedly validate the actions of New York City OTB taken on the advice of its Counsel in 2003.
Sincerely yours,
January 5, 2012
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m - New York Daily News
articles.nydailynews.com/.../18220335_1_racing-and-wagering-boar...
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m. BY JERRY BOSSERT DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER. Monday, April 14, 2003. New York City Off-Track Betting ...§ 105. Supplementary regulatory powers of the board. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the board through its rules and regulations or in allotting dates for racing or in licensing race meetings at which pari-mutuel betting is permitted shall be empowered to: (i) permit racing at which pari-mutuel betting is conducted on any or all dates from the first day of January through the thirty-first day of December, inclusive of Sundays but exclusive of December twenty-fifth and Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday; and (ii) fix minimum and maximum charges for admission at any race meeting.
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