MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Right to Work and Immigration Reform

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: It`s all about the money.

You know, Republicans hate unions because of the boots on the ground, the organization, the organized social networking that is taking place. Unions are a driving force in getting people out to vote for Democrats. And make no -- really no mistake about any of this. If it weren`t for the union vote in this country, President Obama would have lost to Mitt Romney. You could talk about organizing for America all you want, you leave those union folks home, you leave those folks not going door-to-door, you leave those boots on the ground gone, you leave that social networking out, Obama loses.

Now, after Citizens United, Republicans, well, they got their money. But Democrats have the people power and this is what`s being attacked here. Righties are now trying to put the last nail in the coffin. In recent years, we`ve seen an assault on unions and organization from Scott Walker`s radical anti-union law, to right to work states across this country, the threat is real and it is coordinated by big money Republicans and special interest. It`s your voice folks.

24 states have now passed right-to-work legislation. Tell me how that helps workers. It doesn`t. These states don`t require public sector union workers to pay dues. The court made the big step towards nationalizing, I think, right-to-work legislation today. The ripple effect from this decision will be felt for years to come. It could cripple unions politically and it will impact every American worker.

Now, in this particular case, it`s the home care workers in Illinois. Have you ever been associated with a home care worker or ever seen them at work? Maybe someday someone`s going to be providing for you and I guarantee you, you`re going to think, "They`re damn important." But they`re only partial employees according to this conservative Supreme Court.

The fact is it pays lousy. The representation is very weak except in some parts of the country. They need a voice. And today, a conservative court made sure that their voices are going to be a hell of a lot harder to hear, because they have said, "It infringes on the right to free speech to make sure that they are organized and pay union dues." It`s about the money and it`s all about what Karl Rove was talking about.

And this also underscores that George W. Bush was one of the most effective conservative president this country ever had. Tax cuts for the wealthy, blow up the federal budget deficit to the point of no return and of course now we`re fighting over entitlements, we have to have offsets, and he put two conservatives on the Supreme Court. You saw the action of those conservatives today.

We`ll have the story on war on women a little bit later on this broadcast tonight. But the fact is about workers and about depressing wages, this was a big blow to union organization and workers and in this case the home care workers. Now, in some states, it`s a little bit different and we`ll get to that.

But first, I want you to get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s question, "Does this ruling convince you conservatives want to destroy workers` rights in America?" Text A for yes, text B for no to 67622, you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. We`ll bring you the results later on in the show.

Now, for more, I want to bring in Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Because in the state of Minnesota, home care workers are organized, they`re paid better, they have a voice, they`re well-represented. Congressman, good to have you with us tonight, I appreciate your time.

Give us your thoughts, Keith, on this ruling by the Supreme Court today.

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D) MINNESOTA: Thanks, Ed.

Well, it`s certainly a bad ruling. It violates, I believe, the president and -- but it`s not going to stop us from organizing, it`s not going to stop us from reaching out to people, working people, all over this country and build a stronger voice.

As you know, Ed, they may have more money but we got more people and organized people beat organized money. But these organized people do not beat organized money. So we`ve got to organize people. You know the clip you ran on to Karl Rove? Thank you for doing that. People have got to know this is part of a larger plan and there was nothing legal or fair about this decision. It simply was a little nugget in the plan to disempower American workers so that we are at the mercy, the tender mercies, of the corporate powers.

The fact is it`s a bad decision .

SCHULTZ: The bottom line .

ELLISON: . but we`re not going to be stopped and we`re not going to be slowed down.

SCHULTZ: Well, this is a classic example of .

ELLISON: Ed?

SCHULTZ: . chip away, chip away, chip away until you get exactly what you want.

ELLISON: Right.

SCHULTZ: Today was a big chip off the old block that the conservatives are trying to destroy. Now, this is about income inequality, this is about workers in Illinois that should have a voice .

ELLISON: Yes, it is about .

SCHULTZ: . that should have an opportunity to -- yeah, go ahead.

ELLISON: Yes, it is about income inequality. If you chart the way that union density has declined over the years, you can track the decline and stagnation of wages on the exact same chart and they attract together.

This is a blow to working people but it`s not just the economic blow, it is an economic blow but it`s even more than that, it`s a political blow. It`s trying to parlay the economic damage of suppressing wages and pushing down the right to collective bargaining into a political advantage at the poll. See, these people know they can`t win in a fair fight. So what are they doing? They`re trying to suppress the vote, damage unions, damage organizations that elevate the voice of working people.

And so .

SCHULTZ: Congressman .

ELLISON: . you know, what we`ve got to do, we`ve got to get a reinvigoration. We can use this.

SCHULTZ: Congressman .

ELLISON: Yes, Ed?

SCHULTZ: . is this an activist court? Is this a court that has gone overboard against workers?

ELLISON: Well, Ed, you and I both remember well when people were accusing the Supreme Court of being activist judges and any judge that help working people are any judge that was fair on issues such as discrimination was an activist judge. These are the most activist judges we have ever seen whether it`s Citizens United, or hobby lobby which also came down, or Harris vs. Quinn, this Supreme Court is extremely busy and doesn`t have much regard for president at all.

In fact, in this case today, Harris vs. Quinn, Alito -- Justice Alito -- well, you know, it`s hard to call him Justice Alito but Mr. Alito actually took a swing at a boot (ph) which is a case of many, many years of president but spoke disparagingly about the case, "Thank goodness, it`s still the law."

SCHULTZ: Congressman, I want to switch topics if I may. Earlier today, President Obama announced a major move on immigration reform. The president of course is convinced that Republicans will not pass immigration reform this year. So, in regard, the president said today that he`s using in an executive order to move resources to the border. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH AND CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it`s bad for our economy, and it`s bad for our future.

So, while I will continue to push House Republicans to drop the excuses and act and I hope their constituents will too, America cannot wait forever for them to act. And that`s why today, I`m beginning a new effort to fix as much more immigration system as I can on my own without Congress.

As a first step, I`m directing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to move available and appropriate resources from our interior to the border. Protecting public safety and deporting dangerous criminals has been and will remain the top priority but we are going to refocus our efforts where we can to make sure we do what it takes to keep our border secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This is a very interesting move by the president. I think he`s basically saying, "Boehner, you want to sue me? OK. I`m going to prove to America that you`re not getting anything done on immigration reforms so I`m going to move by executive order, moving resources from internally in the United States now down to the border."

Congressman, what`s your take on this? What do you think of this move?

ELLISON: Well, the House Speaker, Mr. Boeher, has left the president with very little other choice. I mean the United States of America is a country that needs a new path on immigration reform. The Senate has passed a bill a year ago. The speaker has told us that he`s not going to take any action to help improve the situation, so the president has to.

So I support the president`s effort to try to do what he can to alleviate the pain, the pressure, and the problems associated with the Republicans refusal to act on immigration reform, you know.

And by the way, Ed, immigration reform would certainly help our economy. The Congressional Budget Office has studied this issue as many things have and the verdict is in, immigration reform would improve our economy, would help put money in our nation`s coffers, would help improve the social life of our America`s families, it would do a lot of good but we`re just not seeing any action by the House Majority Leader -- I mean, the House Speaker.

So the president needs to step up and I hope that, you know, the president does take bold action because even if Speaker Boehner tries to sue him, what it will show is that it`ll reveal even more clearly that the Republican majority is more into obstruction than they are in progress for the American people.

SCHULTZ: Well, the president`s approval rating obviously is not as good as
it has been in the past. But the facts are that this is an obstructionist Congress, Boehner won`t bring things to the floor for a vote, the American people want immigration reform and so the president who said that this was a year of action is taking action. But is this -- what do you think Boehner`s reaction is going to be to this? Will this move Republicans at all?

ELLISON: You know, I certainly hope it will move Republicans but when I think of all the things that the American people want an overwhelming numbers that Republicans have not acted on, you know, I wouldn`t hold my breath for their action. 90 percent of Americans believe we need gun background checks. The House Majority won`t do anything.

Upwards of 90 percent of American workers say that they would join union if they could or they believe that workers should have a voice on the job yet, you know, we see anti Davis-Bacon and the sort of move like that. I mean, there are so many things that the American people want that they`re just not getting. And quite frankly, this Republican majority does not represent the will of the American people.

SCHULTZ: All right. Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota with us tonight on the Ed Show, I appreciate your time so much. Have a great fourth, enjoy the week. Thank you, Congressman.

Source