A close confidant of his predecessor, he is going ahead with "Telekom 2010", Mr Ricke's cost-cutting programme, against staunch opposition from workers' representatives who control ten of the 21 votes on Deutsche Telekom's supervisory board.
Depending on your age and political leanings, these words might conjure up images of the Tolpuddle martyrs, Jarrow marchers, or flying pickets; staunch defenders of workers rights or dangerous reactionaries threatening the country's future economic growth.
Just this week, Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has ordered conference rooms at the state's Department of Labor building to be renamed, many which are currently named after labor figures including two women who became staunch advocates for workers' rights and workplace safety after witnessing the Triangle fire.
She's a familiar voice on issues facing American workers, a staunch advocate of civil rights for everybody.
This is tricky for the LDP as many of these workers are staunch supporters of the party, and rural postmasters are useful in mobilising support for it.
Outside, watching her children play on the lawn, Camille used to argue about politics with her neighbors, some of them unionized city workers and staunch Democrats.
The new, high-tech professionals are people like Joel Gibson, a 26-year-old car-engine software programmer whose father, grandfather and great-grandmother were all auto factory workers and staunch Democrats.
The organizers and workers are staunch supporters of comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship, and one of their top priorities is to urge Obama to halt deportations -- which currently stand at record levels -- until immigration reform discussions are complete.
There was Frances, the retired social worker and a staunch lefty, who slept on a cot built into the wall and lived next door to Ms. Dieckmann with her cat, Lady.
The state was the first to dismantle its Department of Labor, and the Republican-dominated State Legislature has been such a staunch defender of business that any pro-worker legislation has little if any chance.
