Skeptics of Bloomberg's union praise point to his past comments
Bloomberg has an uphill battle proving his pro-union sentiment
Skeptics of presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg's pro-union, pro-strike plan released earlier in February are pointing to his antagonistic history with unions.
Bloomberg's "Plan to Protect America’s Workers," released Feb. 15, includes raising the federal minimum wage to $15, requiring employers to provide 12 weeks of paid family leave and protecting workers' ability to strike.
BLOOMBERG CAMPAIGN BLAMES SANDERS' RHETORIC FOR CAMPAIGN OFFICE VANDALISM - AGAIN
"Employees’ ability to withhold their work is a core source of their bargaining power, highly effective at resolving labor disputes," the plan reads.
The plan also voices support for part of the PRO Act, a pro-union bill passed by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives this year.
Democratic presidential candidate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC. (AP Photo/John Locher)
BLOOMBERG SURROGATE JUDGE JUDY SAYS SHE'LL FIGHT SOCIALIST REVOLUTION 'TO THE DEATH'
"Mike supports provisions of the PRO Act that will unequivocally protect 'intermittent strikes,' enabling workers to go on strike briefly or repeatedly — which is far less of a financial burden for employees than an extended strike," the plan reads.
In November, the Guild at Bloomberg Industry Group, a union representing some journalists at Bloomberg organizations, demanded management remove its ban on investigating Bloomberg and his 2020 Democratic rivals.
"We are extremely alarmed by management's decision to silence the journalists we represent at Bloomberg Industry Group, as well as the unrepresented journalists at Bloomberg News," the union wrote. "We call on Bloomberg corporate management to rescind its policy and allow journalists throughout the Bloomberg family to do their jobs."
National Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen recalled the 2005 New York City transit strike.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) walks the picket line with United Auto Workers union members at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant on Sept. 25, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“Bloomberg is a proven anti-worker plutocrat. He’s the quintessential example of a political candidate putting up a faux-metamorphosis façade,” Samuelsen told the New York Post.
“He attacked NYC transit workers viciously when we struck in 2005, he never supported any striking workers in his life and a leopard can’t change its spots. Especially billionaire leopards,” Samuelsen said.
Some pundits and journalists called attention to Bloomberg's past comments after he released his worker protection plan. He angered the United Federation of Teachers after comparing them to the NRA in 2013, Politico reported.
"The NRA's another place where the membership, if you do the polling, doesn't agree with the leadership," Bloomberg said, likening the UFT and the NRA. Former UFT President Randi Weingarten called the remarks "disgusting" at the time.
Democratic political commentator Krystal Ball hammered Bloomberg for his union record on Twitter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
"Bloomberg is a singular threat to organized labor," Ball wrote. "It’s time for unions to get serious about backing the one candidate who can defeat him and who happens to be the single most pro-union candidate in modern history."
FOX Business' inquiry to the Bloomberg campaign was not immediately returned.