The Frontrunner, February 27, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 Bulletin News Network, Inc.

The Frontrunner

February 27, 2007 Tuesday

SECTION: WASHINGTON NEWS

HEADLINE: Business Groups Mobilize To Oppose Union Organizing Measure

BODY:

The Hill (2/27, Snyder) reports the "business and labor lobbies square off this week over a House measure that would make it easier for workers to form unions, which have struggled for years with declining membership." The Democratic-majority House is "expected to pass the Employee Free Choice Act on Thursday - a legislative victory for labor in a body that business interests dominated during the 12-year Republican reign." But House Democrats "and their labor allies face the same problem House Republicans and their big-business friends faced: the Senate filibuster. As a result, the bill has much tougher chances in the Senate than House. The administration is another obstacle. President Bush has indicated he will veto the bill if it arrives on his desk." Still, "business interests are still nervous as they face the new political reality on Capitol Hill. The US Chamber of Commerce, the National Manufacturers Association and other business groups have formed a new coalition to oppose the measure."

Roll Call (2/27, Pierce) reports both House and Senate "are expecting major battles over organized labor this week. And Republicans are planning a fierce push-back on bills they say would hamper homeland security, restrict democracy and lead to the harassment and coercion of average workers." The House "plans to vote Thursday on a bill to relax union organizing rules - allowing a union to form if a majority of workers sign cards authorizing it, rather than the current practice of holding federally supervised, secret-ballot votes." With the "backing of the business community's lobbying juggernaut on K Street, House Republicans say they may not be able to prevent the Employee Free Choice Act from passing that chamber this week, but that their public relations offensive will set the stage for its ultimate demise in the Senate." Chief among "the Republicans' talking points on the bill is that the measure would 'kill private voting rights altogether' and that 'card checks' could allow union organizers to unfairly pressure workers to join, said the House GOP leadership aide."

Labor Bill Seen As Shield From Management During Elections.

In a Washington Post op-ed (2/27, A15), Lance Compa of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations says the Employee Free Choice Act "has provoked a torrent of crocodile tears from corporate executives." Business spokesmen "shout that the act deprives workers of their right to an election held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). But what companies really prize is management's power to exploit the election procedure to mount aggressive, one-sided attacks on workers' freedom of association."

Will Says Act Would Restrict Employer Speech Rights.

In his Washington Post column (2/27, A15), George Will says, "The Employee Free Choice Act would short-circuit the process of persuading workers through a public debate between unions and employers, the winner of which would be determined by workers casting secret ballots. Welcome to the political culture that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law is shaping. That law, which regulates the quantity, timing and content of political speech, is making it increasingly acceptable for interest groups to attempt to advance their social agendas by limiting their adversaries' speech." Senate Democrats "might not find 60 votes to bring this Orwellian legislation ? 'free choice,' indeed -- to a vote. But if it does reach the president's desk, he will veto it. He should have vetoed McCain-Feingold. Its speech restrictions -- applauded as virtuous by the (exempt) media -- have legitimized talk about 'drawing lines' to circumscribe the speech rights of entire categories of Americans, in this case employers."