| Pennsylvania Teamsters broke from their union brethren recently by proposing to endorse Joan Orie Melvin for Supreme Court. The Orie sisters have been traveling along the campaign trail selling judicial decisions for endorsements (or trying to) so this immediately ignited my nostrils as I smelled something rotten. It turns out she did indeed make a deal in return for the Teamsters support except for one snag: the union got double crossed.
The Teamsters should have known better than to trust a Supreme Court candidate and State Senator willing to sell their soul in return for support. Maybe they're getting what they deserve. The Orie sisters promised the union the new state budget would keep tax credits for the movie and film industry, something which has brought or kept many Teamster jobs. State Senator Jane Orie was in a powerful enough position to guarantee this for her sister Judge Joan Orie Melvin. The only problem is that now legislative Republicans have stripped the budget of the film tax credits. Oops.
Randy Albright, a Senate Republican staffer, responded to a query about this with the news: "No. In fact, he is proposing to reduce the existing $75 million film tax credit program." So what, exactly, does the Teamsters Union get in return for their endorsement? Egg on their face. |
