Today's one-liner: “In a republican nation whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of first importance.” T Jefferson
Earlier this year, Allentown City Council Prez Mike D'Amore and Northampton County Controller Steve Barron were moonlighting as union thugs at a T-Mobile call center. Barron was censured by Northampton County Council when they learned that our Controller actually threatened T-Mobile officials with official retaliation for refusing to drop everything and see him without an appointment. D'Amore's campaign warchest consists largely of union campaign contributions.
This is his way of saying, "Thanks, Merry Christmas!"
Will this end up costing taxpayers? Sure, but you don't contribute to him, do you?
Michael D'Amore may already be President of Allentown City Council, but he's only been an elected official since 2005, He's faced the voters just twice. Yet for just two City Council races, he's picked up $13,851 in union contributions.
This might explain why he was holding hands with Norco Controller Steve Barron at T-Mobile last month. Or why he wanted Allentown's TC Salon built at prevailing, i.e. union, wage. Or why he pushed a union-backed proposal to "license" HVAC technicians, i.e. make them join a union. Or why just a few months ago, he sponsored a resolution calling on local colleges and hospitals to sever ties with non-union cafeteria service Sodexo.
It's safe to say he looks for that union label. I have no problem with his desire to organize workers. But what troubles me is that while he plays the role of union boss, Allentown's very real problems get worse. I've seen him try very hard to dismiss people who have complaints about Allentown parks or the systematic home inspection of low-income residents. But ordinary folks don't contribute to D'Amore. Unions do, and according to Lehigh County's records, they are by far his biggest contributor.
Other Council members are hopping on that gravy train, too. In his 2007 race for City Council, Peter Schweyer gobbled up $5,450 from labor unions. Time prevented me from looking over the reports filed by other Council members, but I'll be looking at the remainder soon. Hopefully, a Donovan proposal to post City Council finance reports online, will soon become law.
In the meantime, here's an itemized list of the union contributions made to D'Amore. Labor Local, 10/23/09, $250 Sheetmetal Workers, 11/9/09, $250 William Newhard (union mogul), 10/23/09, $200 Local 32 BJ, 10/30/09, $2,000 Plumbers Local, 10/14/09, $200 Boilermakers, 4/22/09, $250 Steamfitters, 1/23/09, $500 Internat'l Union Painters, 2/9/09, $2,000 Sheetmetal Workers, 2/12/09, $500 Teamsters, 2/20/09, $500 LABORERS lOCAL 1174, 2/23/09, $1,500 Carpeters, 3/4/09, $500 Roofers, 3/31/09, $500 IBEW, 4/30/09, $500 Bricklayers, 4/30/09, $500 IBEW, 12/26/09, 12.26.07, $1,000 Plumbers, 11/1/05, $250 Roofers Local, 11/4/05, $250 SEIU, 11/4/05, $51.38 Carpenters, 11/7/05, $250 Steamfitters, 10/28/05, $400 Sheetmetal, 10/28/05, $500 Bricklayers, 5/20/05, $250 LABORERS Local, 6/2/05, $200 Bricklayers, 9/20/05, $100 UAW, 8/1/05, $100 Painters, 10/17/05, $250 LV Labor Council, 10/19/05, $100
Updated 9:56 AM: Allentown's campaign finance reform proposal, calling for online disclosure, has been introduced by Peter Schweyer, not Donovan.
Today's Express Times awards a well-deserved turkey to Northampton County Controller Steve Barron, the inevitable result of his thinly-veiled threats to T-Mobile. Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore, who accompanied Barron on this Lehigh Valley rendition of "Dumb and Dumber," amazingly told The Morning Call's Jarrett Renshaw there really was no threat. Like Barron, he also refused to answer the complaints of his constituents.
In sharp contrast to D'Amore, Northampton County Council condemned and repudiated Barron's remarks. For its part, The Express Times called it "an abuse of his elected position." His written explanation, which he distributed to the press before going into hiding, doesn't cut it, either. "Barron issued a non-apology, saying he made a 'poor choice of words' and 'did not mean to offend anyone.' That’s not the point. Until he admits he misused his authority by hinting at official retribution against an employer, he hasn’t expressed regret — and he feeds doubts about his ethics and ability to represent the public."
Michael D'Amore, this is a shot across your bow.
Photo credit: CWA, disguised as a grass roots blog.
Following yesterday's video revelations that Allentown City Council Prez Mike D'Amore and Northampton County Controller Steve Barron are moonlighting as union thugs, Barron has been telling people that his threatening remarks - the subject of two separate videos - have been taken out of context. D'Amore has been impersonating a stone wall.
Blogger Michael Molovinsky last night asked D'Amore to distance himself from Barron's threatening remarks, which were first hurled at non-Union T-Mobile on August 10. He was answered with stony silence from a pol who has no intention of representing anyone other than those wearing the union label. Here's their brief exchange at City Council's meeting:
Molovinsky:"I'm very grateful for the jobs that T-Mobile supplies, if they're union or not. So my question is, will you now take this opportunity to distance yourself from that remark and threat by Mr. Barron to a major employer in the Lehigh Valley?"
D'Amore: [silence] "Thank you, Mr. Molovinsky."
Molovinsky: "Let me just conclude by saying that you were elected - you identified yourself as a member of Allentown City Council on that video. You were elected as a representative of the taxpayers and residents of Allentown. You were not elected as a union boss to organize employers who give our citizens jobs."
Dr. Bob Romancheck also let D'Amore have it. "Dr. D'Amore, you were totally out of line." You can see that video here.
Barron's conduct was far worse than D'Amore's. First, he is a Controller, and as such, is bound to avoid policy discussions. Second, he not only attempted to intimidate non-union T-Mobile, but did so in his official capacity, hinting that they's be unable to do business with either County. Finally, he had no authority from either County for the remarks made.
At tonight's Northampton County Council meeting, I will ask that Barron be censured. Additionally, I will ask that Council authorize a letter to T-Mobile, informing this business that Barron has no authority to speak For the County.
I have notified Barron of my intention to make this presentation. I understand that Council Prez Ron Angle has also asked that he pay a visit.
I can guarantee that a stonewall will be no help, nor will he get away with claiming that his intimidation tactics were taken out of context, especially since he made them in two separate videos that the union idiotically publicized.
Updated 1:00 AM: Express Times and WFMZ-69 Weigh In. D'Amore may have stonewalled constituents at City Council, but has the temerity to tell Channel 69 he's "supporting workers and my constituents." If he were really supporting his constituents, wouldn't he have answered one of them? Barron claims everything is "being blown far out of proportion". Councilwoman Barb Thierry will ask him to resign, but Barron will blow off Council. There's probably not enough union people attending.
Updated 8:50 AM: D'Amore defends Barron threat! When Molovinsky and Dr. Romancheck asked D'Amore to distance himself from Barron's threatening remarks, which appear in two separate videos,D'Amore responds with silence. But he tells The Morning Call's Jarrett Renshaw that it really wasn't a threat. I'm sorry, but only a union thug could make that kind of argument and expect anyone to believe it
If you're an elected official, the last thing you should do is shake down some local business. And if you're gonna' do it anyway, you should at least be sneaky about it, like Vince Fumo. Northampton County Controller Steve Barron and Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore have been caught on tape, giving T-Mobile the strong arm. They're actually proud of it. You can see the video above.
CWA, a union, is trying to organize at T-Mobile's Allentown Call Center. A few weeks ago, on August 10 (a Tuesday), organizers tried to enter the building and meet with a VP who was conducting a "town hall" with employees. They had no appointment.
Northampton County Controller Steve Barron and Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore decided to inject themselves in this affair. Now D'Amore is only a part-time City Council member. He strongly believes in unions. I have no problem with his pro-union activity, so long as he makes no attempt to play on his official position as President of Allentown City Council.
Barron's another story. He claims to be a full-time Controller. On a Tuesday, instead of traipsing around in Allentown, he could have been auditing some office somewhere. He's also involving himself in policy matters, something he's been warned about in the past. Still, he's entitled to show his pro-union ardor, as long as he makes no attempt to act officially.
I suppose it's a good way to get campaign contributions.
This is where things get weird. Both of them play on their official titles in an attempt to get their foot in the door. D'Amore points to his City ID, and Barron mentions several times that he's the Controller, damn it!
Elected officials or not, T-Mobile's Group VP had no interest in listening to them sing, "Look for the union label." For one thing, he was there to talk to employees, not them. For another, they had no appointment. If I dropped in on D'Amore uninvited, I'm pretty sure I'd get the bum's rush, too.
This is where Barron really blows it. Instead of just walking away after having made his point, Barron actually threatens retaliation. Not by the union. That's normal. No, he claims it will come from the government itself. Here are his exact words.
"Please remind him [T-Mobile VP Brueckman] that if he needs anything from Northampton or Lehigh County, we're going to remember this day and we'll make sure that it will be part of the negotiations."
Barron threatens government retaliation so he can wrongfully obtain preferential treatment for CWA. It makes no difference whether Barron himself benefits personally. He is clearly attempting to benefit a third party. If T-Mobile submits a bid for cell phone service to either County, Barron is hinting it will be rejected unless it plays ball with CWA.
Barron's ignorant remark has also exposed both Counties to liability. They are both open to a lawsuit claiming retaliation if they ever refuse to do business with T-Mobile, no matter how legitimate the reason.
Thanks, Steve. At the very least, he should resign.
I have no problem with unions, but I do have a problem with elected officials use their office to bully a business into union negotiations.
This story, along with several incriminating videos, first appeared in DailyKos and Lowering the Bar, On these blogs, Barron is actually complimented for his threat of government retaliation. I guess it's OK to rig bids if you do it to penalize businesses that have no unions.
Locally, LVCI and Molovinsky both picked up on this yesterday. They are far less charitable, and I tend to agree with them.
Once their blogs published, and throughout the day, some of these videos began to go "poof." So I downloaded a video myself, made a few annotations of my own so I can claim it is an original, and uploaded it to YouTube myself. If the union has a problem with this, tough. Let 'em sue.
People have a right to know when their public servants abuse their office.
For Barron, this is the second time. A few weeks ago, he was pandering union votes at a County Council meeting concerning Gracedale, using bogus figures. "I'd rather stand with the people behind me than the person in front of me," he told Angle, to thunderous applause from AFSCME. He had previously told me he'd stay out of that controversy because, in his own words, he'd "just be pandering."
I guess the temptation was just too much for him.
Barron may be standing in front of Angle again this Thursday. The Bulldog is considering asking Council to censor him.
Updated 1:00 AM, This Can't Be Good. - The Morning Call's Jarrett Renshaw has picked up on this story. Updated 10:40 AM: Council Will Be Asked to Censure Barron. - I have emailed Barron to notify him of my intention to request that Northampton County Council censure him. I will also request they adopt a resolution to notify T-Mobile that Controller Steve Barron's had no authority from the County for his August 10 threat. Updated 1:00 PM: In a second public video (you can see it here), Controller Barron tells T-Mobile VP Brueckner, "I'd also like you to think about why you didn't meet with one of the local elected officials here in the Lehigh Valley, and how that can benefit your company. And when you do that, I'd like you to give me a call - my numer is [redacted] - and discuss it with you."
Michael D'Amore on Allentown's troubled finances: "This is not a problem that just surfaced. Had we not restructured the debt three years ago, it would be unmanageable completely. We did. We saved the city money. We refinanced some of our debt and, contrary to what Mr. Hershman said, we saved the city $600 thousand. There was no additional interest payments on that refinancing. ...
Lou Hershman (very low): "That's not right."
Michael D'Amore: "We cut, we need to cut everything that's not essential. We need to do what we did just a couple of weeks ago, which is, we looked at our home inspection program and we said, 'We're going broke being successful. So should the citizens pay for that or should the landlords pay for that?' We increased the fees on the landlord. There's no reason the citizens should pay for it, the landlord should pay for it, and now they're going to. We need to do those kinds of things and we need to do them in large numbers.
"When this budget comes out, I think we're all going to have to work together to make sure because a tax increase is not viable."
The Morning Call's Jarrett Renshaw has the skinny. 
