November 7, 2018

Scott Walker Lost. The AFL-CIO Has Just Six Perfect Words for That.

Succinct and brutal.

Michael Brochstein/ZUMA

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What to say about the man who systematically destroyed organized labor in Wisconsin, who as the state’s Republican governor created a mass shortage of public school teachers, and supported voting restrictions that likely helped elect Donald Trump to office?

Apparently, one succinct yet brutal statement is all that’s required. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s most powerful federation of unions, released the following statement Tuesday night as Republican Gov. Scott Walker was projected to lose his reelection bid.

Trumka used the exact same statement back in 2015 when Walker announced his campaign for president. This year, his unsparing words appear more timely than ever.

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

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Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

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