The Year in Review—June

The Nation | Top news stories for June, 2002 | Bob Jones

Electoral insecurity

After weeks of top-secret meetings, President Bush took to the airwaves on June 6 to outline his plans for a new, cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security with 170,000 employees and a budget of $37 billion. Polls showed immediate support for the proposal, and Democrats were caught off-guard by the popularity of the biggest government reorganization in more than 50 years.

But it didn't take long for Big Labor to find an objection, and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill took up their cause almost at once: Tens of thousands of new airport screeners and other employees of the new department would be denied certain union protections in the name of national security.

With mid-term elections nearing, Democrats saw an opportunity to energize a key constituency. Despite relatively quick passage in the House, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle dug in against the proposal, insisting that security workers must enjoy the same labor protections as fruit pickers and flight attendants. That turned out to be a crucial miscalculation, as November's election results would show.