Obama's union thug diplomacy

Wall Street Journal Editorial:

Barack Obama has pledged to "renew American diplomacy." Except, apparently, when it might interfere with an endorsement from the Teamsters.

President James Hoffa bestowed the powerful union's blessing on Mr. Obama yesterday, not so coincidentally only days after the Senator declared his opposition to the pending U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. In a statement inserted in the Congressional Record last week, Mr. Obama said he believes the pact doesn't pay "proper attention" to America's "key industries and agricultural sectors" like cars, rice and beef. Opposition to free-trade deals is now a union litmus test, especially for the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union, which endorsed the Senator last Friday.

Try squaring Mr. Obama's views on the FTA with his criticism of the Bush Administration for not negotiating with unfriendly regimes, taken straight from an online position paper: It "makes us look arrogant, it denies us opportunities to make progress, and it makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership." Or consider this promise from his Asia policy paper: Mr. Obama "will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia" and "work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity."

Consider also that Seoul is willing to open up some of its own politically sensitive industries, such as banking and cars, for the FTA. Mr. Obama might take a look at a report last fall from the International Trade Commission, which says the FTA is expected to boost U.S. GDP by $10 billion to $12 billion annually and that the impact on American employment would be "negligible." In exchange, consumers in both countries would enjoy lower prices and a wider range of goods.

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Unions by their very nature fear competition and they are trying to extend their anti competitive practices to foreign trade. What is exposed here is Obama's tendency to pander to the parties left wing and it union thugs. For a Democrat there is not much in the way of change in that message.

Opposition to free trade puts the selfish interest of union bosses above the interest of the people. Free trade has led to the lowest unemployment in history and a higher standard of living for all Americans. It has also led to Unions having to show productivity gains to get wage increases. That is as it should be. Wage increases in the 70s that were not tied to productive have made some US manufacturers uncompetitive and to lost sales and lost jobs. It is time for the union bosses to wise up.