Goodbye, New Deal Democratic Party, hello, DNC's GOP Party.  Goodbye, labor unions, hello, the hell with the struggling working class and the jobless.

It's not that unions aren't shooting themselves in the foot as they strip solidarity from their vocabulary.

Jonathan Tasini at Working Life writes: 

"Thanks a lot and here's to labor solidarity: 

As fans and foes of Walmart geared up for a City Council hearing Thursday, the retail giant cut a deal with the powerful construction unions to build its city stores.

The agreement with the Building and Construction Trades Council to use union labor gives Walmart a boost as it campaigns for its first city store - facing off against other unions representing retail workers.

"If the labor movement is buried in New York City, I guess Gary La Barbera, the head of the Construction Trades Council, will be  holding the shovel that tosses on the last bit of dirt. A real shame."

But the DNC under Tim Kaine is certainly doing its part to bury labor unions.

From Mike Whitney at Firedoglake:

"This morning the Democratic National Committee announced that its 2012 convention will be held in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte was selected over St. Louis, Minnesota, and Cleveland; it can be assumed that the city was chosen for its location in the new swing-state of North Carolina, which Obama won in 2008 and that the GOP must win if it has hopes of recapturing the White House.

"North Carolina has another distinction: it’s the least union state in the country, with just 3.2% of its workers belonging to a union (coming behind even Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi). And the DNC’s host city of Charlotte has exactly 0 (zero) union hotels in which the 15,000+ visitors will stay for the convention. Finally, the host venue in Charlotte, the Time Warner Cable Arena, does not appear to have any union workers. (I called the arena; the operator laughed at the notion that employees would be union members, and a press contact hasn’t replied yet.)

"Union leaders had previously asked the DNC to not choose Charlotte or Cleveland for their lack of union hotels.

"Obviously, union representation turned out to not at all be a factor for the DNC’s 2012 convention.

"The DNC had a similar problem in Denver, CO for the 2008 convention, but labor had organized at least one hotel ahead of the convention. While Colorado has low union representation, the percentage of workers in unions is at least double that of North Carolina.

"On MSNBC......, Andrea Mitchell actually asked DNC Chair Tim Kaine why the party chose the home state of Bank of America and a right-to-work state, asking Kaine, “ 'I defy you to find a labor hotel for these delegates, for all the AFL-CIO folks coming to Charlotte.' "

"First off, when was the last time you heard a reporter or host even consider the words “right-to-work?” Second, Kaine predictably dodged the question, giving slight praise to the AFL-CIO. Kaine goes on to talk about new industries in North Carolina.

"Kaine revealed though that President Barack Obama does not see unions as part of the “innovation economy,” and does not believe that unions to represent workers are part of the story to tell to Americans."

And if that isn't enough, the Obama administration is blocking two workplace safety violations, pleasing big business.

As Mike Elk at Working In These Times writes:

"Many labor observers say OSHA’s decision not to regulate MSD workplace injuries (ergonomic injuries—also known as musculoskeletal disorder injuries or MSDs) shows that the Obama administration is slowly shifting away from its focus on tougher regulation of workplace safety. The decision to delay implementation of rules to regulate MSD workplace injuries follows a decision in mid-January by OSHA to write a rule regulating extreme noise on the job, which affects the hearing of many who work in the construction and manufacturing industries.

"Those in the business community saw the defeat of these two regulations as a sign of their growing influence with the Department of Labor and OSHA.

“ 'All of these actions are coming because of the November elections and the fierce business opposition to anything,' said Peg Seminario, the AFL-CIO’s director of health and safety. 'Just because the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups scream doesn't mean there is a legitimate reason to retreat. There are real negative impacts here that can harm workers.' ”

"The ability of corporate forces to stop the implementation of these rules may signal the ability of big business to block or water down other rules protecting workers. One has to wonder: Will the elimination of such regulations actually save any jobs, as the president seems to believe? Or will their elimination hurt workers’ lives?"