John Sweeney swigs Cabernet out of a plastic cup, but don't be misled: The AFL-CIO also serves lunchbucket suds, American-made -- Bud or Bud Light for these horny-handed sons of toil. The only imports here are the waiters, who are quick to point out that they're union and that they're leaving at 10 o'clock sharp -- whether the partygoers are finished or not.
The mood here at Labor HQ is cheery enough, but attendees don't neglect to set a good example: All night long, they scrupulously take their news from CNN, in yet another sacrifice in the long, twilight struggle between Labor and Capitol. After ABC camera workers, desk assistants, and publicists staged a one-day walkout on Monday and were locked out by their bosses on Election Day, their brethren at the AFL-CIO are maintaining a united front. At the bottom of every television set in the conference room is a handwritten note: "Please do not switch to ABC."
Reported by the staff of THE WEEKLY STANDARD