thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check » SEIU

SEIU’s New Battle Cry: Charge!

Admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:53:50 +0000

LaborUnionReport.com has some timely insights and analysis regarding Mary Kay Henry, the next president of the nation’s most powerful union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). What caught our attention:

Henry said she has

Dear Andy Stern, So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night

Admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:14:36 +0000

Friends of the U.S. Chamber are asking you to send a postcard to retiring SEIU president Andy Stern and at the same time help say no to card check.

Who knew it was a Hallmark moment?

Some Truth Comes To Union Pensions

Admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:00:45 +0000

There’s a strong argument that one of the primary motivations for union officials to push the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act because it would usher in enough new dues-paying employees to prop up failing union pension funds (which are one of the main selling points for the unions’ service).

Therefore it is good news that there are some great new websites popping up to help union members figure out whether their retirement will consist of caviar or cat food. As we’ve noted before, it’s extremely tough to get that information and it (unfortunately) appears to be headed in exactly the wrong direction on union disclosure, so outside efforts are critical.

In that vein, check out websites focusing on SEIU and UFCW. And check out more here.

Now Trumka Defends Workplace Democracy

Admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:13:09 +0000

Thank goodness for the ardent defense of workplace democracy being demonstrated by the AFL-CIO, whose president writes:

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that shouldn’t even have to exist.

The question in New Process Steel v. National Labor Relations Board is whether decisions by the NLRB-the body created under the National Labor Relations Act to protect workplace democracy-are valid when the board has only two of the five members provided for in the act.

Hmm. Notice that part, “protect workplace democracy”? Interesting.

All this time we were worried that union bosses had forgotten about workplace democracy. After all, they’ve been pushing the card check bill, which would effectively eliminate secret ballot elections from the workplace and threaten an employee’s right to vote on an eventual contract proposal.

And SEIU has faced allegations by union rivals of subverting democracy for their own members of changing ballots, showing up at workers’ homes as many as five times a day to pressure them to vote for SEIU, questioning the legal status of one worker, and threatening the wages and benefits of a worker if they voted the wrong way.

Glad we’ve cleared up where they stand on workers’ rights.

UPDATE: Shopfloor’s Keith Smith writes: “It

Sham Union Justice: Why You Don’t Want Card Check

Admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:23:22 +0000

There’s some fantastic theater going on as the card-check-pushing Service Employees International Union is attempting to strangle a renegade former unit in California to stop a potential exodus of ~~dues~~ members away from the powerful international.

Perhaps even better than the actual trial underway — SEIU says the breakaway leaders misused resources — is the recap on Huffington Post by an SEIU member who seems to write propaganda in roughly the style of Communist China.

Consider: SEIU has the “very well prepared and articulate” lawyer who “delivered his opening statement with clear oversight and transparency.” Of course, he’s only delivering justice to the former leaders who “deliberately committed acts that bring harm to the working members of SEIU-UHW when they were the officials of our union.”

They “conspired” and “devised a plan” and exhibited a “long laundry list of unethical behaviors.” Ahh, that air of fairness and objectivity comes right through! Somewhere in the annals of authoritarian propaganda a place is being made for the newcomer who shows promise.

Who’s right and who’s wrong here? Probably no one’s right and everyone’s wrong, based on the record. SEIU went on a warpath that ended up undermining its own members’ right to vote — a good reminder why Congress should not pass the Employee Free Choice Act. And the breakaway union leadership can be viewed as either good or bad depending on how one views rabid, no-holds-barred union bosses (there’s an argument that their job is to be rabid, no-holds-barred union bosses and are actually serving employees better than SEIU, which is regarded by many in the labor world as a corporate sell-out in California).

In the end, only those in the California courtroom will see what’s going on with any clarity. They will certainly only be getting spin from the Purple People Beaters’ version of Tokyo Rose.

Card Check: ACORN, SEIU, and Cards

Admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:07:25 +0000

Perhaps you haven’t heard, but two more former ACORN employees have been charged with voter fraud for their small part in the large rash of voter registration “irregularities.” ACORN is going so far as to say it’s a “victimless crime.” M’kay.

Such a blase attitude may be warranted if the cards were something as unimportant as a supermarket discount card, a nice coupon for half off the second entree at the local Mexican restaurant, maybe even a library card. But a voter registration card? Voting is the cornerstone of participatory democracy, and that card is the key to getting in — it’s the ultimate franchise.

So it’s interesting to note ACORN sibling SEIU’s view of the cards that are the key to the labor realm — union authorization cards that would be the one-stop sign-up for dues, work rules, failing pensions, fines, strikes, and more. While most Americans are outraged unions would try to form without letting people vote, SEIU says the card will take care of it. No need to offer the protection of a secret ballot vote, nothing to see here, move along folks.

Of course, there’s plenty of allegations to suggest that SEIU doesn’t really value the secret ballots of its own members, so perhaps cards really aren’t the answer to any problem. Perhaps SEIU isn’t worried about process, but just outcome. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking is usually bad for employees.

Just something to think about.

“AFL-CIO Mouthpiece Admits Big Labor’s Strategy is to Use NLRB to Push Americans into Unions”

Admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:00:51 +0000

We have documented the way in which NLRB nominee Craig Becker’s testimony has failed to assuage the concerns that the former SEIU attorney’s anti-employer views would impair his ability to function in his potential new role.

But there’s also the concern that his mild-mannered answers — which could have left many thinking he has changed his view that he could use the NLRB to replace the current secret-ballot system with card check — didn’t tell the whole story.

LaborUnionReport.com points out this claim by AFL-CIO ~~boss Richard Trumka~~ organizing boss Stewart Acuff on using the NLRB to pass card check when legislators would not:

It [sic] we aren’t able to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, we will work with President Obama and Vice President Biden and their appointees to the National Labor Relations Board to change the rules governing forming a union through administrative action to once again allow workers in America access to one of the most basic freedoms in a democracy–the freedom of speech and assembly and association so that workers can build the collective power to challenge the Financial Elite and Get America Back to Work. [Emphasis added.]

Hmm. Certainly worth keeping in mind as Senators send his nomination one more important step into the process Thursday morning.

Card Check King’s Answers “Not Good Enough”

Admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:23:26 +0000

Yesterday, SEIU attorney Craig Becker went before a Senate hearing aimed at investigating his radical anti-employer, anti-employee-rights views. (Here’s his prepared statement; informed observers may chuckle at his description of the hallowed National Labor Relations Board since his employer spent years attacking it and continues to skirt it religiously.)

The concerns of many are captured by the Wall Street Journal:

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.) expressed concern that Becker’s writings “have indicated a belief that the NLRB has the power to make some of the dramatic changes in the card-check bill.” The so-called card-check legislation, supported by Obama and Democrats in Congress, would allow unions to bypass secret-ballot elections and instead organize in workplaces by collecting signed cards from workers.

Sen. John McCain has been leading the fight against letting Becker scoot into the NLRB seat without a hearing on his troubling views. McCain asked Becker about whether he would recuse himself from all cases before the board involving SEIU. The recap from The Hill:

Becker replied,

Video: Which Senators Are Terrorists, SEIU?

Admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:39:57 +0000

From the Workforce Fairness Institute:

SEIU Says: Senators Are Terrorists

Admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:02:51 +0000

You probably thought it was outrageous that SEIU president Andy Stern has persecuted his own members and driven away large chunks of his own organization.

You probably thought it was incredible that he dropped tens of millions of dollars on politics after leading a split in labor because the other federation was spending too much on politics.

You probably thought it was horrifying to hear how SEIU badgers — almost terrorizes — companies that don’t cave into the union’s card check demands.

Even with all that, you’ll probably still manage to be shocked that Stern has criticized Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Ben Nelson for halting disastrous health care legislation by saying, “There are a lot of terrorists in the Senate who think we are supposed to negotiate with them when they have their particular needs that they want met.”

Stern has flown the cuckoo nest. We wonder if the rest of the labor movement really wants to tie their wagon to this guy.

UPDATE: Thanks to BigGovernment.com and Instapundit.com readers for joining us!