“Workers have suffered nearly two decades of wage stagnation,” said Bill Samuel, legislative director at the AFL-CIO. “We believe that’s because workers have lost the ability to bargain for higher wages and better benefits.
Business leaders recognize labor is determined to win victories in Congress next year.
“The labor agenda for next year is huge because they haven’t gotten a lot of what they wanted,” said Jade West, senior vice president of government relations with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.
The biggest prize for labor is the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for union shops to organize by allowing them to bypass secret-ballot elections in the workplace. Business groups, however, say the legislation would enable union organizers to intimidate workers into joining their cause.
Samuel said labor will also call for action to expand health insurance and promote paid family/medical leave, greater regulation of Wall Street investment firms and stricter enforcement of workplace standards.
Business groups are ramping up their activities in the run-up to the election, in an effort to limit Democratic gains and set the stage for grassroots lobbying in 2009 and beyond.
They’re spurred by the unprecedented spending of national labor groups such as the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). AFL-CIO and SEIU plan to spend $54 million and $85 million in this year’s election, respectively.
BIPAC, a trade association that includes most of the Fortune 100 companies, had 900 companies and business associations participating in its employee mobilization program in 2004. This election cycle, BIPAC says that almost 4,000 companies and business groups will participate, reaching an audience of 20 million employees. That target exceeds the 13 million union households that the AFL-CIO has announced it will contact before the election.
NAM, which is working with BIPAC, has compiled information on congressional candidates to distribute to employees at 11,000 member companies, said Tiffany Adams, vice president of public affairs at NAM.
The U.S. Chamber has nearly doubled participation in its VoteforBusiness.com program since 2004, said Miller. The trade association has also made “heavy ad buys” in many of the states with competitive Senate races.
While the business grassroots programs may not substantially alter the balance in Congress, strategists hope it will have a significant influence on legislation next year.
“It becomes something where we’re able to use individuals as a grassroots army to put weight on legislative issues in the off-season,” said Miller.
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