Perry’s Pick For Workforce Commission Draws Fire Of Labor Leaders

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s appointment of former state GOP chairman Tom Pauken to the “public” seat on the Texas Workforce Commission has drawn the fire of state labor leaders, as expected:

Texas AFL-CIO president Becky Moeller blasted the appointment, saying that Mr. Pauken is too much of a conservative “ideologue” to help workers needing fair treatment to get top-notch training or recover from layoffs.

“Tom Pauken has a long record of advocacy for right-wing views and even battled George W. Bush and John Cornyn because he thought they were too liberal. This does not bode well for working people who need a Workforce Commission that will seriously consider all sides of workplace issues,” Ms. Moeller said.

While there is a position for a Commissioner representing labor, I really can’t think of a more controversial appointment Perry could have made, simply because of Pauken’s role as head of the Republican Party of Texas. Here is what Pauken says about it:

Mr. Pauken said such concerns are “ludicrous” because he has a long history of working well with labor concerns, dating back to his White House days.

Sadly, it is hard to call Pauken’s claim that the concerns are “ludicrous” when he’s on the record making statements like this:

“I’ve been willing to take on the Democrats day after day, toe to toe, issue by issue,” he said. “It’s trench warfare. ” Pauken’s game plan for national politics includes taking on labor leaders who use union dues to advance the Democrats’ agenda. At the top of his list is AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who directed an all-out effort against House Republicans.

Pauken said he wants to drive a wedge between labor leaders and rank-and-file workers.

“The average union member is philosophically pretty conservative,” he said. “We have to show how the national leaders don’t represent the mind-set of average union workers. “

The above is from the December 14, 1996 Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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