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Labor leader says 'card check' will wait until after healthcare
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08/24/09 12:16 PM ET
A top labor official said Monday that President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have indicated that they will not bring up "card check" legislation until after healthcare reform is done in Congress.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, the expected incoming president of the influential union, pledged during a web chat on the liberal blog firedoglake that organized labor would work to pass healthcare reform in order to move onto one of its top priorities, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
"The President/and Emanuel have both said they dont intend to bring Employee Free Choice Act up until Health Insurance Reform is done," Trumka wrote on the blog. "Which gives us an additional reason to do Health Insurance Reform now!"
The remarks all but acknowledge that EFCA, one of labor's most prized legislative goals, will take a backseat to the Obama administration's most pressing priority for the meanwhile.
Obama has endorsed the union organizing bill, though he and other senior administration officials have spoken about it much less in public as centrist Democrats in the Senate have been reluctant to fully back the bill.
Republicans, for the most part, have opposed the bill as a threat to businesses.
Trumka also sent a message to allies in the White House and Congress that they expected eventual movement on EFCA, and that it could not be put off indefinitely.
"We WILL PASS EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT legislation, we will not allow our
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, the expected incoming president of the influential union, pledged during a web chat on the liberal blog firedoglake that organized labor would work to pass healthcare reform in order to move onto one of its top priorities, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
"The President/and Emanuel have both said they dont intend to bring Employee Free Choice Act up until Health Insurance Reform is done," Trumka wrote on the blog. "Which gives us an additional reason to do Health Insurance Reform now!"
The remarks all but acknowledge that EFCA, one of labor's most prized legislative goals, will take a backseat to the Obama administration's most pressing priority for the meanwhile.
Obama has endorsed the union organizing bill, though he and other senior administration officials have spoken about it much less in public as centrist Democrats in the Senate have been reluctant to fully back the bill.
Republicans, for the most part, have opposed the bill as a threat to businesses.
Trumka also sent a message to allies in the White House and Congress that they expected eventual movement on EFCA, and that it could not be put off indefinitely.
"We WILL PASS EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT legislation, we will not allow our
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Comments (9)
If we must have obamacare then all Unions, Federal Government employees, Senators and Congressman must cancel their poliecs and join obamacare.
KILL OBAMACARE BEFORE IT KILLS AMERICA AND THE FUTURE OF GRAND CHILDREN. GET YOU HEAD OUT OF YOUR GEISTERS DEMOCRATS, COME UP FOR AIR OBAMA IS SUCKING THE LIFE RIGHT OUT OF YOU CRONIES.BY jake on 08/24/2009 at 18:12
In the midst of this recession (which is mainly the result of corporate greed and poor lending practices) I see union membership as a stabilizing force that protects wages and helps our local economy. Any legislation that helps working people and protects their rights is an important peice of legislation. We definitely need this bill to pass.BY Emily on 08/26/2009 at 14:06
We need the Employee Free Choice Act now, to restore balance in our economy and get us out of this slump. Trickle down economics doesn't work - and corporate-driven trickle down is what we have now. Workers need more power to join together and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits. This will help us all.BY Laura on 08/26/2009 at 14:12
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