Major Labor Leader Allegedly Kicks and Throws Chair During Speech in Charlotte

A major union leader did his rendition of Clint Eastwood's RNC empty chair routine Monday at the onset of the Democratic National Convention this week in Charlotte. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Cleveland native and recently elected President of AFSCME Lee Saunders, who represents 1.6 million active and retired public services employee union members, took on an empty chair on stage towards the end of "a speech filled with fiery anti-GOP rhetoric"at the Labor Day breakfast for Ohio's delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

The Plain Dealer reports that Saunders had a brief conversation from the stage with an imaginary Eastwood seated on the empty chair, before exclaiming "So Dirty Harry, make my day, we're gonna kick some ass in November" and then kicked the chair loudly.

Buzzfeed reports that Saunders had also thrown the chair as the crowd at the meeting cheered.

Saunders was not the only union member from the key general election swing state frustrated at the event. The Plain Dealer reports that Thomas Ritchie Sr. and Dennis Lieberman also spoke at the event. Both claim that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted fired them from the Montgomery County Board of Elections last week for defying Husted by attempting to institute weekend voting hours.

"The secretary of suppression, Jon Husted, him and his cronies have a plan ... to steal this election," Ritchie said. "And by God we're not going to let that happen, are we?"

The Ohio Delegates were joined at the event by top Obama campaign surrogate and Democratic Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.

"Unions have made our country better,” O’Malley said at the event. “You all play a critical role. An absolutely critical role.”

Over the last few months, labor leaders have expressed their displeasure with the selection of Charlotte, North Carolina, as the location to host the Democratic National Convention. North Carolina is a right-to-work-state and has the lowest rate of union membership in the country.

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton said Monday morning that it "doesn't make any sense" to hold the convention in the right-to-work state.

“We’re a big party and we are a national party and we need to reach out to voters all over the country, and that includes the people of North Carolina,” O'Malley told Buzzfeed at the event when asked about union enthusiasm towards the location.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent a letter to union officials in August, according to POLITICO, saying that there would be no skyboxes, no delegate meetings and no major contributions on the part of the AFL-CIO at the DNC this year.