Democrats in Congress are "committed" to passing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday.
Pelosi told the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Department conference in Washington that the strength of the middle class is directly tied to the strength of organized labor.
"Our work in Congress is based on two truths: America
47 actors, musicians, comedians, and other performers released a web video Thursday pushing for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
The web video by the group "Artists for Workers Choice," organized in part with Hollywood's own unions and guilds, takes aim at "corporate greed," and asks viewers to urge their congressmen to pass EFCA.
"The best way for working men and women is by uniting with our coworkers and joining a union," an amalgam of performers say in the video, which was also organized by the AFL-CIO.
"It gives workers a choice of how to unionize," the video says, strongly asserting that the bill would not eliminate the right to a secret ballot, a key claim made by opponents of the legislation.
"This isn't a red state issue or a blue state issue -- it's a worker's issue," they say.
The performers include: F. Murray Abraham, Polly Adams, David Alan Basche, P.J. Benjamin, Amy Brenneman, Kate Burton, Gabrielle Carteris, James Cromwell, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, John Cunningham, Emilio Delgado, Andre De Shields, Kevin Dobson, Mike Farrell, Sam Freed, Ed Fry, Jason George, Nancy Giles, Elliott Gould, Holter Graham, Valerie Harper, Don Hastings, Gregory Jbara, Anne-Marie Johnson, S. Marc Jordan, Kevin Kilner, Michele Lee, Kate Linder, James Lurie, Richard Masur, Anne Meara, Esai Morales, Robert Newman, Kathleen Noone, Nancy Opel, Robert Pine, Roberta Reardon, Sam Robards, Alan Rosenberg, Ned Schmidtke, Charles Shaughnessy, Chris Shiflett, Kate Shindle, Connie Stevens, Jerry Stiller, Paul F. Tompkins and Mark Zimmerman.
Republican senators are "nervous" departed-Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) may switch his stance on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and back the labor legislation.
"We're very nervous about some of the public statements he's made," Ensign told a group of conservative bloggers Wednesday, as reported by the American Spectator.
Specter had announced that he wouldn't back EFCA (or "card check") before having switched parties last month to pursue reelection as a Democrat. Since then, members of the business and organized labor community have both heavily lobbied Specter to either deny or attain the critical votes to overcome a filibuster of the bill.
"We hope he honors not just the leter of his pledge, but the intent of the pledge," Ensign told the bloggers.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has been under tremendous pressure by both sides of the card-check debate. She opposes the legislation in its current form, and though she's a potential swing vote on a compromise bill, she'd undoubtedly like to put the issue off until after her 2010 re-election.
According to the Arkansas Times, however, labor is ramping up the pressure on Lincoln.
The head of the Arkansas AFL-CIO said this afternoon that incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln may yet face an opponent in next year's Democratic Primary because of her anti-union stances this year.
Alan B. Hughes of Little Rock, president of the state organization, said the chances of Lincoln drawing an opponent depend on how she handles the Employee Free Choice Act or "card check," legislation designed to make it easier for workers at a site to form a union.
[snip]
Hughes said if Lincoln continues to disappoint Arkansas labor then all the local union organizations around the state will meet soon to discuss the possibility of recruiting a candidate to challenge her. "The doors are open at that time," he said.
[snip]
Said Hughes, "I'm sure national labor would be involved."
I think its unlikely that national labor would actually support a challenger. It seems more likely that they'd dangle the threat of a primary over Blanche's head to pressure her to vote for a compromise.
For the record, here's what AFL-CIO political director Karen Acerkman told Talking Points Memo about Blanche recently:
"Endorsement decisions are made at the state level and the decision will be made by the workers in Arkansas when it's the appropriate time. For now we are focused on talking to Senator Lincoln about why the Employee Free Choice Act is so critical to making the economy work for everyone and we are confident we will have 60 votes for major labor law reform this year."
A compromise on a key component of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) could risk losing the votes of the bill's most ardent supporters, Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) warned Wednesday.
Hare said that the binding arbitration component of the bill was a must-have element of the final version of the bill.
"WIthout that, you're taking the engine out of the automobile," Hare said in a conference call organized by American Rights at Work. "It looks nice but it's not going anywhere."
The arbitration provision would refer an employer and union to a federal mediator after 90 days of collective bargaining and invoke arbitration after 30 additional days, the decision from which would be binding for two years. Both parties could agree to delay those deadlines.
Hare said EFCA "may very well" lose votes if that section is watered down or removed.
"I can't speak for other people in the House, but I can say the people that I've talked to, including my committee chairman -- we're very locked in on this," he said. "But the people I know that support this bill, they want to see binding arbitration stay in the bill."
Still, Hare cautioned that he would have to see what compromises, if any, are made before deciding whether or not to hold his vote.
The Obama administration owes organized labor a lot for its victory in the presidential election, Vice President Biden said Tuesday, and will continue to push for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and other union-backed measures.
"Everybody looks back on the election now and says it was a piece of cake," Biden said during a speech before a conference of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). "But let me tell you: You made it cake."
"We Bidens, we owe you," Biden said of the union's support for his political runs and for his son Beau Biden's run for attorney general in Delaware.
Biden said there is "no way" for the administration to work to restore the middle class without strengthening organized labor.
"That's why we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act," the vice president said. "You know, I think it should be pretty simple. If a union is what you want, then a union is what you should get."
Biden also suggested that as long as the Obama administration has labor's support, the administration will support labor.
"It's simple. Look, I'm taking too much of your time, but here's the deal, folks," Biden told AFSCME conferees. "You know, if we want to achieve our goals, we, the president, and me, this administration, we need to make sure you achieve your goals. It's really that basic."
Labor groups also expressed optimism after religious leaders pushed for EFCA, citing a "moral imperative" for equitable work conditions. The editor of Sojourners Magazine, which puts a Christian perspective on social justice issues, joined an Episcopalian bishop and other religious leaders to push Congress to pass the act, and launch a new website, http://faithforworkplacefairness.org/.
EFCA "continues to lose ground with Senate Democrats because they understand the American people do not support the legislation," Katie Packer of the Workforce Fairness Institute, an anti-EFCA group, responded.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) indicated last week she does not favor the so-called "binding arbitration" part of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) as currently written.
Lincoln joins two other centrist Democrats in opposition to the second key component of EFCA favored by organized labor, making it difficult for a final compromise of the bill including the provision to overcome a Senate filibuster.
Lincoln reiterated her opposition to EFCA, the El-Dorado News-Times reported May 1st, but when asked what specific elements of the bill she had issues with, Lincoln cited the "arbitration piece," among other aspects of the legislation.
The so-called "binding arbitration" portion of the bill would refer an employer and union to a federal mediator after 90 days of collective bargaining and invoke arbitration after 30 additional days, the decision from which would be binding for two years. However, parties engaged in a negotiation could agree to extend those deadlines.
Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) have expressed their qualms about the arbitration section.
The economy is showing "glimmers of hope," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis asserted Friday, but it is too soon to say whether the economy is on the road to recovery -- or whether another stimulus package may be needed.
"All I can tell you is that we're seeing some glimmer of hope," Solis told Bloomberg News in an interview this morning. "I know that because of the transactions in the financing business -- more transparencies there -- that people will be able to have more credit available."
But the uncertainty, Solid said, means it is also too early to decide on a second stimulus package.
"I still think it's a bit too early to project that," she said. "Because keep in mind we have the stimulus money that still hasn't been rolled out."
Solis also downplayed a question on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), saying that she is "personally working on trying to stimulate the economy right now" when she was asked what she'd personally done to help pass the union legislation.
"While the president and I are committed to the Employee Free Choice Act," she continued, "my focus right now is to make sure we get our funding out for job creation and job growth."
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) is a serious Senate candidate, Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern tweeted Tuesday.
Stern had met with Sestak yesterday to discuss the Democrat's intentions in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Sestak has been making a lot of noise as of late about challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D) in the state's 2010 Democratic primary.
Sestak is serious about Senate race. Doing Senate Finance Roundtable today on health care.
Beyond their traditional influence in Democratic contests, union leaders have made clear that their support for Specter in a primary is still an open question. Specter has said he opposes the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a prized piece of union legislation, even after having switched parties to pursue reelection as a Democrat.
The controversial "card check" provision in the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) may be dropped in a compromise, one of the bill's Democratic sponsors in the Senate said Monday.
"Compromises are going to be made," Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told Bloomberg News. "It [the bill] probably won
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