August 4, 2010: Fox’s Beck Claims Unions ‘Raped’ Police, Fire Fighters

Fox News host Glenn Beck launches a rhetorical attack on the nation’s unions. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, was designed “to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices.” For years, conservative and Republican candidates and organizations have fought against unions’ rights to bargain collectively, in part because labor unions are a critical element of the center-left “progressive” coalition in American politics. [Media Matters, 9/7/2010; Board, 2011] A regular segment on Fox News is titled, “Unions: Can America Afford Them?” [Fox News, 2011] Beck often calls union workers “thugs” and/or “enforcers.” [Media Matters, 9/7/2010] On his daily radio show, Beck says of unions: “Look what they’ve done to the police and firemen. They’ve raped these guys. Along with politicians. Along with politicians—raped them. The bravest among us.… What, do you think the politicians are not in bed with the unions?” Beck is discussing unions’ push for Congress not to privatize and dramatically reduce Social Security benefits for workers. [Media Matters, 8/4/2010; Media Matters, 9/7/2010]