POL, Emil Jones looks for scapegoat to change the subject on "Big Box" law

Rich Miller (Capitol Fax Blog) pulled this quote from Chicago Tribune (Dan Mihalopolous):

In black wards, incumbents already are trying to counter the unions by alleging that labor discriminates against African-Americans, particularly in the high-paying building trades.

"They can't influence voters," said former 7th Ward Ald. William Beavers, whose daughter and successor faces Sandi Jackson, the congressman's wife, at the polls next month. "People in the community know what the unions are about. How can you tell blacks how to vote when you are freezing them out of unions?"

Unions should push for more construction jobs for blacks, said Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago). "I told the unions, 'Don't come messing with me and my aldermen, but then you're silent about breaking down the walls of discrimination'" in the trades, Jones said.

Lots of unions serve almost entirely Black and immigrant membership, especially the unions pushing the "Big Box" law. So Beavers and Jones are sorta like Republicans who blame hippies for lack of loyalty to George W. Bush.

I sorta feel like saying, "Have you left the house in 35 years?"

To the extent unions aren't being as inclusive as they should be in the trades that problem should be addressed.

But lets assume the Black aldermen actually believe their own rhetoric on the "Big Box" law. According to Black aldermen if Chicago passed a "Big Box" law Walmart would not open stores in Chicago it would otherwise open.

How would this affect "White" guys in the trades? Wouldn't unionized construction workers lose jobs?

The move to pass the "Big Box" law is driven by the unions that organize low wage workers--the unions that do represent Blacks and immigrants.

So Jones and Beavers attacking the trades unions is dishonest. And I expect if you looked at Jones' record he's done very little to push the trades unions to include more Blacks. He's only raising this issue because he knows the Black political elite screwed working class Blacks on "Big Box". The Black political class took Walmart's money to screw regular Black folk. Just like they took ComEd's money to screw regular Black folk. And just like Black members of Congress took the telecom money to vote against net neutrality.