Even as union leaders press for card-check legislation in Washington, more local unions already are turning to the controversial method of organizing -- and making some gains.
Current law allows unions to organize workers by having them check a box on a card, as opposed to holding an election, if a company approves....
Click here to read entire article.
CDW Members:
While Sonny and Cher may not be playing on your alarm clock radio, the proponents of EFCA are still beating the drum that there are acceptable alternatives to card-check and binding arbitration, and that they’re close to getting a “deal” that will get them 60 votes.
Just last week, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was quoted in The Hill, regarding EFCA or some version of it, “There is a decent chance it will happen this year.” Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, also expressed his hope that the bill would be passed “this fall.”
In today’s National Journal magazine (see attached), the AFL-CIO’s Bill Samuels makes the implication that an improving economy may signal that it’s time to move EFCA. Mr. Samuels’ optimism in the face of more than 9% unemployment nationally and studies estimating that EFCA could cost as many as 600,000 jobs in the first year after enactment must surely be encouraging to card-check supporters.
The National Journal article also mentions a few EFCA alternatives, such as ambush (or quickie) elections and increased workplace access for union organizers. We’ve been through this drill before, but it’s worth reiterating that there is no acceptable alternative version of EFCA.
Remember, all of these proposals regarding workplace organizing, whether card-check, workplace access, or ambush elections, have the same end goal: increasing the power of professional union organizers by sacrificing the rights of the American workforce.
Also, I’ve attached some talking points regarding ambush elections and increased workplace access for professional union organizers.
Please keep up the grassroots and direct contacts with House and Senate offices.. The consistent hard work of CDW members will continue to prevent EFCA and any equally dangerous alternatives from becoming law.
A Gift for Labor
Union 'card check' isn't dead yet, and it may be getting worse.
The AFL-CIO crowned a new king yesterday at the labor federation's convention in Pittsburgh. Now some Democrats are rushing to pay the union's new president, Rich Trumka, tribute by reviving Big Labor's top legislative priority, the "card check" legislation. Click here to read the full article.
Read the Union Health-Care Label
Get ready for Detroit-style labor relations in our hospitals.
In the heated debates on health-care reform, not enough attention is being paid to the huge financial windfalls ObamaCare will dole out to unions—or to the provisions in the various bills in Congress that will help bring about the forced unionization of the health-care industry.
Tucked away in thousands of pages of complex new rules, regulations and mandates are special privileges and giveaways that could have devastating consequences for the health-care sector and the American economy at large...
Click here to read the full article.
CDW Members:
The long August recess is over, and while the health care debate continues to dominate the headlines, proponents of EFCA are doing their best to ensure that Big Labor’s #1 priority does not drift off the political radar screen.
EFCA Alternatives
AFL-CIO’s Secretary-Treasurer (and assumed incoming president), Richard Trumka, has expressed publicly that an alternative version of EFCA---without the card-check provision---will likely move through Congress before the end of 2009.
As reported in BusinessWeek, Trumka “told reporters that a compromise bill currently being negotiated by moderate Democrats in the Senate would be acceptable even if it didn't include the controversial ‘card check’ option.”
On a related note, the New York Times reports current AFL-CIO president John Sweeney as agreeing to accept “ambush,” or quickie, elections in place of card-check. To read that story, click here.
While the talk of ambush election is nothing new in the EFCA debate, it is worth noting that these sources aren’t anonymous, but rather the elected (by secret ballot, generally) leaders of the labor movement. CDW has already knocked down the fallacy that ambush elections are reasonable, and I have attached our letter to the U.S. Senate, and our talking points on that subject, for your reference.
Finally, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), as reported in Politico, has noted that the small group of Senate Democrats working on this issue are “making progress” in finding what they deem to be a suitable alternative.
Meanwhile, in the House, EFCA (H.R. 1409)---with card-check and government-mandated binding interest arbitration---still has 226 co-sponsors.
Union Grassroots
To coincide with Labor Day and the AFL-CIO’s annual convention, union leaders are planning a media blitz in support of EFCA, as well as a possible lobbying day on Capitol Hill. Read the story in Politico http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26649_Page2.html
This serves a reminder that we cannot slacken our efforts to defeat EFCA, or any alternative versions of the bill that are proposed under the guise of “compromise.” It would be nice to think that this legislation has been defeated, but it is clearly still at the top of Big Labor’s political agenda and therefore must remain at the top of ours, as well.
Lobbying Committee
For CDW members based in the D.C. area, our lobbying committee will meet on September 10, at 2:00 pm at the offices of NRF. If you’re interested in attending, please contact Rob Green at greenr@nrf.com.
As our members are talking to their Representative and Senators about health care or cap-and-trade, it is crucial that they also use those opportunities to remind them that there can be no compromise on the rights of employees to make an informed, private decision about whether to join a union and small businesses cannot be handed over to government-appointed arbitrators.
CDW has been so effective for the past three years because of the broad cross-section of the employer community represented by our membership of more than 580 trade and business associations, and the passion with which our individual members have spoken about this important issue. By continuing to vocal and united in our opposition, we can again hold off this latest push by the proponents of EFCA.
As always, thanks for all of your continued hard work.
Brian
