aided by the selection of george mcgovern who george meanie, lane kirkland and the leadership of the afl-cio formed a major distaste for. they disliked him intensely. as much for his national security views as anything else. it was part of my job to try to gain the support of the afl-cio in 1972. and the -- what we did gain is active support from the building trades unions. many of the building trades unions. specifically endorsed nixon. >> and seafarers. >> and the teepsters. quid pro quo for the teamsters wars the dropping of the final offer selection legislation. but the afl-cio was just intensely distrustful of the mcgovern wing of the democratic party. they were owe palled at the -- at what had happened when the scoop jackson wing of the democratic party seemed to dissolve before their eyes, they were very troubled. it's quite astonishing among -- when you compared the labor movement of the 1960's and 1970's with today, not only has mike said, you have such an enormous decline in the portion of labor -- of labor represented by organized labor, and of course bill made it true, it had --

he had a serious problem because he had no communication with the afl-cio. that was one of the major reasons he was appointed. he did get involved. that issue and selective others where he felt he had some knowledge to contribute. >> we could go on all afternoon. we promised ourselves we would stop after 90 minutes. i want to make one point because this is a unique panel. this is our 15th to 16th panel. you have a group of people who were the leaders of 40 years ago. today these people are still leaders. was one of the first successful recruitment of women. she is a huge leader to date. michael is a prominent economist and has served for a long time on the chicago section of the federal reserve board. larry is a fantastic individual. 19 years the judge, even as a senior judge offered the opinion of the d.c. circuit on the challenge to the affordable care act which is on its way to the supreme court. my classmate from harvard law school, signed into the department of labour. it goes back to the department of labor and becomes solicitor. today he runs pages a p

you have to stand up to the afl-cio. i'm on the same side as jimmy hoffa and the afl-cio on this. e teamsters and the afl-cio want the keystone pipeline, want it now. gregg: republican congressman steve scalise of louisiana sits on the house energy and commerce committee. he joins us here in studio. great to have you here in new york. >> great to be with you. gregg: majority leader, minority leader at odds. harry reid says no chance the payroll tax cut extension with the keystone pipeline extension will pass. there is bipartisan support and lindsey graham comes in seems to contradict mcconnell. saying it will probably not sell who. is right here? >> we passed a similar bill out of the house a few weeks ago that jump starts the keystone project. we had over 40 democrats that joined us voting for the bill. clearly they're is a bipartisan support for this bill that creates something over 20,000 american jobs. this is something the president ought to embrace if he is concerned about the middle class. this is great way to start about 20,000 middle class and by the way bring in the 7 bil

we are inviting the afl-cio, the labor movement, to contribute a question, may be on should there be in new hampshire a living wage job guaranteed to every american car to mark remember, that was an fdr plank that never -- he died before he could really share that. but we are inviting, and there are three of us here that have a wonderful clipboard, and if you are from rockingham county, anybody here from rockingham? yes? well, ok. we have a county coordinator for rockingham and he is going gangbusters. we do not need many volunteers but you are an angel. you could help him. we will put you up with him, ok? but for the other counties, we have the beginning of of organization here in hillsboro. we have a wonderful new leader in merrimack, and glenn is right behind me, so we're beginning to pick a debt of this structure. to put together the structure. my hope is that through that, borrowing, and stealing, stealing in a joking way for our cameras, we're going to be another raise sufficient funds so that at least half of these places there will be of veteran standing tall and helping with

he would have to stand up to the afl-cio. i'm on the same side as the team territories and the afl-cio, they want the keystone pipeline and want it now. the president has been talking about creating jobs. this is ready to go immediately. all it requires is his signoff. i'm sure that senator reid hadn't checked with his own conference. a significant number will support this package. it has bipartisan support. >> chris: you are saying that the payroll tax cut will be extended? >> well, of course. i mean it has bipartisan support. but, we also need to have something in there that prevents the loss of jobs and something that will create the jobs and that is why we inserted boiler mack supported on a bipartisan basis and the keystone pipeline, supported on a bipartisan basis. one would save jobs. one would create jobs right now. so why not have some balance rather than have the whole package designed to help those who are unemployed or preventing a tax cut on working americans, let's have something that actually produces and saves

he would have to stand up to the afl-cio. on the same side as the team territories and the afl-cio, they want the keystone pipeline and want it now. the president has been talking about creating jobs. this is ready to go immediately. all it requires is his signoff. i'm sure that senat reid hadn't checked with his own conference. a significant number will support this package. it has bipartisan support. >> chris: you are saying that the payroll tax cut will be extended? >> well, of course. i mean it has bipartisan support. but, we also need to have something in there that prevents the loss of jobs and something that will create the jobs and that is why we inserted boiler mack supported on a bipartisan basis and the keystone pipeline, supported on a bipartisan basis. one would save jobs. one would create jobs right now. so why not have some balance rather than have the whole package designed to help those who are unemployed or preventing a tax cut on working americans, let's have something that actually produces and saves jobs s

the afl-cio is coordinating around the country.loyment benefits are set to expire at the end of the year. meanwhile, dozens of occupy d.c. protesters were arrested as part of a huge organized march in downtown washington. 61 people were arrested for blocking the intersection of 16th and k streets northwest. they were charged with obstructing a public highway. another person was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer. it was part of the group's day of action for the protester pes. >>> for the first time since ward five council member harry thomas jr.'s home was raided by the fbi and irs, the mayor is speaking out about the investigation. up until now, gray has said only that the legal process should play out before any action is taken. yesterday, after a press conference to welcome a big boxing match to the district this weekend, he went into -- went more into depth talking about the toll the probe is taking on the city and on thomas's family. >> assuming that it's true, of course it's a bad situation. again, i can't

the president is posturing here he would have to stand up to the afl cio. i am on the same side as jimmy hof hoffa. the teamsters and afl cio want the keystone pipeline and want it now. >> it is ready to go. all it requires is his signoff. with regard to senator reid's comment i am sure he had to check with his own conference. there are a significant number of democrats senators and house members who are going to support this package. this has bipartisan support. oo poo when you said senator that isn't going to happen. you are saying that the payroll tax cut will be extended? >> of course. it has bipartisan support. we also need to have something in there that prevents the loss of jobs and something that will create the jobs. that is why we boiler mac supported on a bipartisan basis and the keystone pipeline supported on a bipartisan basis. one would save jobs one would create jobs right now. why not have some balance rather than have the whole package designed to help those who are unemployed or prevent a tax cut on working americans let's have something th

of the afl-cio, planned parenthood come and occupy d.c. came to protest. e and blocked traffic right on independence avenue. the 75 protesters gathered in front of this office building and about half of them went into the streets to block traffic. police moved in quickly surrounding the demonstration. for some tourists come and was all part of the washington experience. >> i think it is interesting. >> for residents, a reminder that they have no control over their local budget. >> it is like being held hostage all-time. and is a football they tossed back and forth. cut the refused to leave the road and were taken into custody including this man who has been on a hunger strike for more than one week. >> this is the third time that have been protesting the lack of voting rights. d.c. mayor vincent right along with others or protesting. even though they do not necessarily oppose the ban, they are not happy with congress attaching riders. >> they should not be attaching riders to any bill regardless. >> you saw him in the wheelchair who has been on hunger strik

>>neil: where is the service workers union and the long shoreman union and the afl-cio, and the strikersthe very people, these are unionized shops that you are going after. unionized shipping concerns you are going after even the union guys on the ships are saying, this is scary me shipless. >>guest: that is nothing of the like so what is happening workers have shown unprecedented support for this action. >>neil: i just told you, i told you, they are not. >>guest: that is inaccurate. the workers have not crossed the pocket line and we had their support. >>neil: who is that? >>guest: rank and file workers. >>neil: from what union? >>guest: from port worker unions have sent us peaches and they have not we crosses the picket line. >>neil: so, wait, the live unions that are affected by transport in and around this area, one representing the rank and file sent you peeps and you think from that you have universal support? >>guest: you glean from the fact that goldman sachs only own as stake in one company that the 1 percent is not profiting extremely off of our . >>neil: that is exactly what i

last year the afl-cio actually kept the money in the country and they went to disney world and bidenent down to talk to them. but you have a situation where the union bosses, additional hypocrisy signed their pensions while the rank and file could be down to 65. >>neil: where are the occupiers and why are they not going to the popular resorts and, just, you know, rampaging the gates? what the heck? >>guest: well, no, it is ironic that the same bosses who are funding, using the union dues to bus in the people to occupy wall street, maybe if they protested this they would have a nice are play to be doing their protesting. >>neil: get to be consistent. if you rail against this, we go after spending with republicans, and with democrats but when you start picking and choosing the teach activity you don't like ... >>guest: this is not creating a job down this. and that is what we need to have them focus on, working with us to create jobs rather than attack people who are creating jobs which is unfortunately what the union agenda is designed to kill jobs. >>neil: we called the union and we

he split with the afl-cio. ld say reasonably lousy relationships with the rest of labor. i would haven't put that it way. put hit the way. china has grown quite well over the last -- >> greg: the regulation. >> andrea: this is like greg having a second baby. >> eric: there is no minimum wage in china. in america we create, we make iphones. life-saving drugs. >> bob: shouldn't matter. are you saying we shouldn't have minimum wage? should we or not? >> dana: while we figure out what that is. >> bob: answer my question. should we or not have minimum wage in the country? >> eric: we have a minimum wage. >> bob: should we? >> eric: we should not. >> bob: i want to know -- >> dana: i have to tease. >> bob: we'll debate more. >> dana: can you let me tease? >> bob: sorry. >> eric: why is washington skimping on the christmas party for the cia warriors who work around the clock to keep us safe? we have details up next. ♪ ♪ [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up som

. >> we know that labor in the form of the afl-cio wants it built. the form of other major labor unions are staunch backers of the president. the republicans know that as well. they are pressing what they believe is a political advantage because it is the environmental wing of the democratic party. a core constituency who is dead set against this and republicans have a sort of a divide and conquer strategy. >> what's going to happen? does the pipeline stay in or go out. >> i think they will finesse it. >> half in and half out? >> it will stay in in one form or another andy wool know about next thursday. >> oh, boy. mike viquiera at the white house. thanks very much. top lines, the week that was herman cain. how we missed you. >> merry christmas. and a happy holiday season from our family to yours. everyone have their new blackberry from at&t? it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting no

relays him with this guy griffin, a general counsel for a labor union and sits on the board of the afl-ciow do you think the 200 cases are going to be dissolved and reconcileed? in favor of the union. so if we want to play political gamesmanship we are better off with two members and the supreme court said they cannot ajudd indicate anything with less than a quorum but i think that be with better than giving it to the labor union on all 200 of the cases. >> congressman, thank you for sharing your outlook and your views, fair and balanced, now, there is a strong argument that the labor movement is lined to the nlrb and the president, therefore, should not make this recess appointment, and you her the congressman's statement. >>guest: unfortunately, the congressman is wrong. if you look at what has come out of the nlrb. boeing decision got a lot of headlines and the business community want into overdrive and overreacting but on the social media they have reviewed 14 kisses this summer and half came on the employers' side. they were arguing for the employer and they came out on their side and

. >>> the afl/cio issued a new report warning hundreds of thousands of californians will lose unemployment benefits right after christmas if congress does not act in the next couple of weeks. millions lost their jobs like jeff davis he recently became a 9 9er someone who has what -- who has exhausted all unemployment benefits. >> i'm not sure what is going to happen. i spent 20 years getting to where i was and was happy handling sheet metal all day now that is gone. >> extending jobless benefits is costly because the state's unemployment trust fun is broke california has been borrowing from the federal government for two years to keep the checks going >> facebook may have solved the problem of where to house the 9400 workers they hopeed to employ in their new menlo park headquarters. backing a developer's bid to build an apartment come in the 700 and 800 block of hamilton across the train tracks from where facebook hopes to build another campus. the development would house 200 to 250 people. right now it is just on the drawing board. >>> steve jobs has done in death what others can't in li

. >> the afl-cio estimates more than 300,000 californians will be joining davis if congress doesn't actnd benefits by the end of the year. washington is hung up on its usual fights. but mckinney saw the same stalemate last year. he was at 97 weeks when he decided to retire rather than risk no money coming in at all. >> i could see my benefits were running out. i didn't see that congress was acting to extend anything. i didn't know if they could extend anything. and i was one of the lucky ones. i had a way out. i had my retirement. >> mckinney's decision turn out to be the right one. congress barely approved extensions last year, but not beyond 99 weeks. but extending jobless benefits is costly. because the state's unemployment trust fund is broke, california has been borrowing money from the federal government for two years to keep the checks going. taxpayers forked over $300 million in interest to the feds this fall. another $400 million is due in nine months. >> that continues to be costly to the state the longest we go without a solvency solution. >> labor unions say the economy cann

and i bet you that the afl-cio wants this keystone pipeline built. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, again, the afl-cio still opposes this bill. i'd like to yield at this point, at this time two minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman from massachusetts. i don't think anyone disagrees my good friend who discussed the keystone pipeline this that we want to create jobs. there's nothing that has been said that will suggest that the appropriate time of review that that project would not go forward. but what we're talking about today is the crisis in the american public dealing with two major issues. continuing a tax relief and tax cut for working and middle-class americans, number one. and number two, to keep six million americans from rolling into the street and falling on their own spear for lack of unemployment insurance being extended. disallowing them

. >> the afl-cio estimates more than 300,000 californians will be joining davis if congress doesn't act to extend benefits by the end of the year. washington is hung up on its usual fights. but mckinney saw the same stalemate last year. he was at 97 weeks when he decided to retire rather than risk no money coming in at all. >> i could see my ben gets were running out. i didn't see that congress was acting to extend anything. i didn't moye if they could extend anything. and i was one of the lucky ones. i had a way out. i had my retirement. >> mckinney's decision turn out to be the right one. congress barely approved extensions last year, but not beyond 99 weeks. but extending jobless benefits is costly. because the state's unemployment trust fund is broke, california has been borrowing money from the federal government for two years to keep the checks going. taxpayers forked over $300 million in interest to the feds this fall. another $400 million is due in nine months. >> that continues to be costly to the state the longest we go without a solvency solution. >> labor unions say the econ

the afl-cio, not typically a republican organization, supports it. there is some bipartisan support for this and most of the democrats, senators in that region of the country, are for it. >> and there are some and obviously -- i talked to some people who live around there, who are republican, who are concerned. but i hear your point. there is some bipartisan support for that. but given that there is not enough and that the republicans know it is a deal breaker to put it in there, why bother? >> well, you know, the compromise is in the view of the beholder. for example, social security is $6 trillion short. i think reducing the revenue stream into the social security trust fund is a mistake. but i'm willing to go along with this if it is paid for and if it will create some jobs. so putting a pipeline -- allowing the pipeline to be built in the united states, which is allowing energy production and transfer of energy to something that helps me come on board, it is part of what i consider to be the compromise because i think reducing the funding for soci

the afl, i should say, the cio joined later. the afl championed him in the state but not nationally in the 1928 campaign. >> those issues that john evers was talking about, did it play out nationally? how strong were the forces behind the issues? >> i think al smith is a good example of somebody who was radicalized over the course of his time on a politician. he starts out as an unexceptional tammany guy who is not putting forth particularly creative ideas. no one knows much what he was doing as an early assemblyman. both through the social turmoil that he had during the progressive era and then through the triangle shirtwaist fire -- which does seem to have been this kind of eye-opening moment for him, 146 people died in this fire. they are mostly teenage girls, mostly teenage immigrant girls who are locked in on the eighth and ninth floor. they are forced to jump to their deaths. he ends up on the commission. he becomes a true progressive in what i would say is the radical and not radical sense of that word. when he begins to w

that's what the afl-cio is saying. the labor international union of north america, says it's not just a keep line but it is a lifeline, for thousands of desperate working men and women. so you have bipartisan support here in congress, you have the working people, the organizations of this country represent working people weighing in saying this is a project that needs to be approved that would create jobs, that would address some of the economic angst that we're feeling in this country, and here we are faced with this unnecessary delay. well, we have a piece of legislation, mr. president, that has 40 cosponsors here in the united states senate. it was introduced last week. many of our colleagues have taken the lead. senator hoeven from north dakota, senator johanns from nebraska, senator barrasso and others, who believe so strongly in the issue of economic growth, job creation, energy security, national security that we have introduced a bill that would allow this project, either one to move forward or have the presiden

the afl-cio, not typically a republican organization, supports it. there is some bipartisan support for this and most of the democrats, senators in that region of the country, are for it. >> and there are some and obviously -- i talked to some people who live around there, who are republican, who are concerned. but i hear your point. there is some bipartisan support for that. but given that there is not enough and that the republicans know it is a deal breaker to put it in there, why bother? >> well, you know, the compromise is in the view of the beholder. for example, social security is $6 trillion short. i think reducing the revenue stream into the social security trust fund is a mistake. but i'm willing to go along with this if it is paid for and if it will create some jobs. so putting a pipeline -- allowing the pipeline to be built in the united states, which is allowing energy production and transfer of energy to something that helps me come on board, it is part of what i consider to be the compromise because i think reducing the funding for soci

that's why the afl-cio already raised more than $1 billion from pension funds to put in this. can get a more reliable turn run-in this than they can investing the funds in the market. >> woodruff: is that a message received well on both sides of the politicalile? >> i don't know. i hope so because there are no tax dollars involved-- that is, you don't have to appropriate or raise taxes. as i said, it's pretty close to a free lunch because the utility benefit, too-- that is, this building, this big, 1964 office building is being retrofitted. they're going to cut their energy use between 40% and 50%. that's like giving a tiny power plant back to the local utility. and for that amount of energy, it's a lot cheaper to get it that way than to build a new power plant. you just give it back to them and they accommore growth in the area. >> woodruff: so this-- again, this central message here that government needs to be involved to get the economy growing. >> yes. >> woodruff: is that a message that people are hearing and accepting do you think? >> i have no idea. i just thought that-

he got all these people together and then, to have the afl-cio and afc and others lead the way saying they will put their members' pensions into this because they can get a good, stable return and put current members to work and other peoples of return -- and other people to work -- this is a good deal. the announcement the president made today is the jobs that you can multiplies 7000 times 8 billion. literally 50, 70, 80 times that because of his involvement. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> at the daily press briefing, jay carney criticized a republican payroll tax cut plan. he also talked about the unemployment numbers dropping to the lowest level since march of 2009. >> let me begin, if i may, with a quick statement -- announcement, rather. the president looks forward to welcoming prime minister stephen harper of canada to the white house on wednesday, december 7. canada, as you know, is a close ally and partner of the united states and the president looks forward to discussing our import

the afl-cio, america's skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the keystone x.l. jobs." the afl-cio further said as many as 500,000 indirect jobs via a strong economic multiplier effect without one single dollar of government assistance. madam president, isn't this what we're looking for? doesn't cost the government anything, creates jobs immediately, this is what we're looking for. the brotherhood of electrical workers, at the time when jobs are a top global priority the keystone project will put thousands back to work and have ripple benefits throughout the north american economy. labor's international union of north america had this to say, this is not just a pipeline, but a life line. not just a pipeline but a life line for thousands of desperate working men and women. so what do we have here, madam president? a privately funded project that labor leaders are saying their members want up and running but the president says this one, this one can wait. this fight -- despite what he about importing oil from allies, despite what the labor unions say, the president