July 17th, 2009:

In my email today from The Progress Report (Think Progress).

The Progress Report wrote:

Reestablishing American Power

From: The Progress Report [progress@americanprogressaction.org]
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 8:57 AM
To: Tom
Subject: Reestablishing American Power

Senators “friendly to labor” have decided to drop card-check, the central provision of a bill that would have made it easier for workers to organize simply by signing cards saying they wanted a union. Several “moderate Democrats opposed the card-check provision as undemocratic.” Instead, “the revised bill would require shorter unionization campaigns and faster elections.”

Does this sound like these Senators are friendly to labor? To me, it is like pushing over dominoes. If the Senators weaken the Employee Free Choice Act by killing card check, and then the next domino falls by caving to industry lobbyists’ demand for weak language on unionization. Then they all fall. These “labor friendly” Senators are pushing the knife deeper into the backs of the middle class blue collar worker. A true friend to labor would see that the card-check provision is the easiest and most effective way to unionize, a building block to a stronger middle class.

The New York Times article, Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions, By Steven Greenhouse, Published: July 16, 2009 details the compromise that these so-called “Democrats” are pushing. The lobbying effort to kill “card check” appears to have been hugely successful.

Union leaders argue that under current law, unionization elections are often unfair because, they say, employers have a huge opportunity to intimidate and pressure workers during the lengthy campaigns that precede the unionization vote.

Business leaders say the current system is fair, asserting that unions lose so many elections because workers oppose paying union dues and do not feel they need unions to represent them.

Corporate lobbyists have indicated they would oppose fast elections, arguing that such a provision would deny employers ample opportunity to educate employees about the downside of unionizing, such as strikes and union dues.

Labor leaders counter that employers will have plenty of opportunity to fight unionization, noting that many companies begin plying employees with anti-union information the day they are hired.

Business also opposes the bill’s provisions to have binding arbitration if an employer fails to reach a contract with a new union. Companies argue it would be wrong for government-designated arbitrators to dictate what a company’s wages and benefits should be.

These “Democrats” have offered to shorten unionization camapigns and will include wording in the legislation to expedite union elections.

The NYTimes article states that business leaders claim the current system is fair and that unions lose elections because the majority of the workers believe they do not need unions to represent them.

This is a true statement. Well, it’s true after management gets to them. After the employees leave the mandatory closed door meeting with management – a meeting that went into detail how each and every one of them who votes for the union would lose their jobs and how they will then be forced to train their own replacements, yea sure, the workers are totally convinced they do not need a union.

This is how employers “educate” employees about the “downside of unionization”.

Illegal? Sure is. But on their way back to work, management tells them that the meeting was classified and anyone speaking a word of it, even to each other, will be fired on the spot. If you think management won’t try to control what the employees talk about and when they talk to each other, then you are living in a fool’s paradise. It happened to me when I worked for the Postal Service.

Here are the names of the six so-called “Democrats” that want to kill card check to please big business. Please write them and tell them your story. All they hear on the Hill is chatter from business and their lobbyists.

Tom Harkin (IA)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Thomas R. Carper (DE)
Mark Pryor (AR)
Charles E. Schumer (NY)
Arlen Specter (PA)

It’s the usual suspects. Tom Carper is a DLC’er. The DLC has never done anthing good for progressive Democrats. And you can add Blanche Lincoln (AR) to the list, too. This really gets my blood boiling. I hate Democrats that you can’t tell from Republicans. We need to elect more progressive Democrats. These six Democrats are far from being pro-labor. With friends like these, who needs enemies?