Conservatives launch “Organized Labor Party”

By Anjeanette Damon

Monday, Oct. 4, 2010 | 2:59 p.m.

Conservative rabble-rousers Dan Burdish and Chuck Muth have formed a new political party in the state: the Organized Labor Party of Nevada.

Upset that Secretary of State Ross Miller allows a party to be formed without signatures from 1 percent of the voters in the last election, Burdish said they’ve decided to launch the Organized Labor Party in protest.

The party’s bylaws stand in stark contrast to what an actual organized labor political party would likely stand for, including opposition to card check, support of the paycheck protection and allowing unions to decertify through card check. The party also supports voter approval of public employee collective bargaining agreements.

“If the Tea Party of Nevada is a misnomer, we thought we’d be a misnomer ourselves,” Burdish said. “Nothing in our preamble or bylaws is anything any union is going to support.”

Burdish had filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to get Tea Party of Nevada candidate Scott Ashjian kicked off the ballot, arguing he didn’t collect the necessary signatures to establish a political party.

It’s too late for the Organized Labor Party to get on this year’s ballot in an attempt to siphon votes away from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But Burdish said that might be an option next cycle if conservatives want to drain support from a Democrat.

“If nothing else, it’s just to thumb our nose at Miller for doing what he’s doing with the tea party,” Burdish said.