The unions and left-wing organizations better watch it, PR-wise at least. The National Association of Manufacturers, that ultra-pro-business trade association with members who own businesses in, gasp, China, is looking more concerned with the welfare of rank-and-file workers than they are.

Compare the coverage of a union protest in the unabashedly left-wing Talking Points Memo (TPM) website with that in the National Association of Manufacturers blog.

NAM was concerned about the impact the protest had on workers trying to get home during their evening commutes. TPM didn’t even mention the impact of the event on uninvolved parties, 99 percent of whom almost certainly were tired workers.

It wasn’t just TPM that didn’t care. The equally left-wing Daily Kos mentioned the streets being illegally closed down, apparently approvingly: “Despite lacking a permit or any prior planning, as many as 1,000 people walked the four blocks to the White House–in the middle of the street…” If thousands of people were held up an hour or so, well, if you’re a leftist, who cares?

On the positive side, if the left thinks annoying people is the way to earn the loyalty of the people, good idea, guys, and please keep it up.

And by the way, Daily Kos, the large numbers of pre-printed trade union signs are a pretty big clue that there was plenty of “prior planning.” We weren’t born yesterday.