Free-trade spat between McCaskill, labor suggests changing relationship between Democrats, unions

http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article31145840.html

BY DAVE HELLING dhelling@kcstar.com

Bill Caldwell, a machinist and labor union official in Kansas City, is finished with Sen. Claire McCaskill.

“I’m not knocking on any doors, I’m not phone-banking for her. Period,” he said. “I think she’s forgotten where she came from.”

Caldwell’s deep disappointment — prompted by McCaskill’s support for a new U.S. trade agreement with Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim nations — may reflect the ordinary tension between a legislator and a constituent. No lawmaker can make everyone happy all the time.

But McCaskill is a Democrat. Her party traditionally supports organized labor, relying on it for money and votes.

FULL story at link.