State Rep. Harold Dutton had a message for the Houston-area chapter of the state’s largest union when it endorsed his Democratic primary opponent: «To hell with you all.»
The longtime state representative left a voice message for the executive director of the Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation saying he would no longer push back on GOP legislation blocking unions from automatically docking fees from workers’ paychecks.
«You know, I’ve gone to bat for labor,» Dutton said in the Jan. 16 message, a recording of which was shared with Hearst Newspapers. «I’m not going to fight that this time. I have been the one standing in the trenches for you all, ever since that came up. And so, since you all don’t respect me enough to say, ‘Well, wait a minute, we need to take a look at all of what representative Dutton does,’ you know — to hell with you all.»
It was the culmination of a growing rift between the longtime state representative and the AFL-CIO, a coalition of teachers and public employees that had long supported the Democrat. It is driven largely by the state’s takeover of Houston ISD — a move made possible by legislation Dutton authored a decade ago. The union strongly opposes the takeover, which Dutton stands by as necessary to turn around failing schools in his district.
Hany Khalil, the executive director of the union’s Gulf Coast chapter, said the voicemail amounted to a threat of «straight-out retaliation» against the group by the 81-year-old representative who has served in the House since 1985.
«He seems to think he is entitled to our support whether or not he’s with us on the issues working people care about,» Khalil said.