Archive for August, 2009
Card Check Proponent “Particularly adept at smear campaigns”
In the course of watching news from around the country, we came across an interesting editorial from Washington State. It seems union officials have taken to running attack ads against a key Democratic state legislator for trying to close the state’s enormous budget gap.
But after taking a few unions to task for the ads, the Seattle Times editorial page notes “SEIU is particularly adept at smear campaigns…” SEIU, of course, is the most visible union pushing the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act — it’s also the union that busts union drives by its own staff, dumps millions of dollars into leftwing groups like ACORN, and raids rival unions in hopes of picking up extra dues dollars.
This reminder from the Times ought to be a “remindable moment” if not “teachable moment” for those wondering what kind of people are pushing card check and EFCA.
The Political Reason For Card Check
Modernizing the nation
Card Check: Big Labor Makes It Rain For Congress
OK, by now most of us know the deal: Union officials have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying and supporting politicians who will cram the horrifyingly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act down America’s throat. One union official even openly declared EFCA was the “payback” Big Labor sought for its investment, even though the issue has become toxic for politicians.
So it’s noteworthy that CQToday reports (behind a password) that “Unions top the list of biggest campaign contributors in first half of 2009″. Consider these facts and figures from the report: In just 6 months Big Labor spent more than $10 million of their members’ money. That is a staggering figure, given that there are just 545 elected officials in the legislative branch.
Those numbers are even more shocking given the industries Big Labor outspent during a time when the legislature and president are haggling over economy-changing bills on health care and energy. Union officials managed to out-cash Health care, finance/insurance, transportation, energy/natural resources, ideological groups, communication/technology, retail/services, defense, real estate/construction, law, and manufacturing.
The spending spree is also telling for where the money’s coming from. Major union groups — including the AFL-CIO and SEIU — have reportedly already spent themselves into deficits or near deficits. That means they are fighting for the whole enchilada on EFCA.
Click here to learn more about Big Labor’s lobbying from OpenSecrets.org.
Card Check Already Getting A Post Mortem?
The Minnesota Independent is already doing an autopsy of the campaign by union officials to push the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act. Two caveats: the paper is obviously sympathetic to the misguided legislation and the bill is actually far from dead. But the look at union efforts is interesting. A couple tidbits:
Political Challenge Could Pressure Senator’s Position on Employee Free Choice Act
Interesting analysis regarding a key Senator: “One interesting ramification for Dorgan facing some stiff competition from Governor Hoeven could be Dorgan
National Ad Warns: Employee Free Choice Act Threatens American Jobs
(Admin update — we will be keeping this post at the top of The Truth About EFCA.com while this ad runs across the nation. Be sure to scroll down for our fresh posts)
Click to watch the Free Enterprise Alliance’s ad running across the nation. It will educate Americans about the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act’s job-killing potential as legislators head home for the August recess.
According to research by Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar, the bill’s card check provision and binding arbitration language could lead to a reduction in employment of anywhere from 600,000 jobs to … well, millions.
That’s a cost that we can’t bear in any economy, let alone the tough times our nation faces now. That’s why there can be no compromise on a job-killing bill like the Employee Free Choice Act.
