Big Promise: Obama Tells Unions That The Employee Free Choice Act Will Pass This Year

• March 4, 2009

Another promise Obama isn’t going to be able to keep?

“We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act,” President Obama told more than 100 top labor officials in a closed-door meeting at the labor federation’s winter gathering in Miami, according to people at the meeting.
The bill would make it easier for unions to recruit workers because it would let them join unions simply by signing cards rather than through secret-ballot elections in which companies can campaign against the union. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations have been campaigning against the legislation.
The president’s remarks were taped on Feb. 20, according to a White House spokesman. Following his remarks, AFL-CIO officials held a meeting with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Separately, on Wednesday, the AFL-CIO is expected to ask the administration to take a controlling stake in banks that receive government funding and a more active role in restructuring their balance sheets. “We believe the debate over nationalization is delaying the inevitable bank restructuring, which is something our economy cannot afford,” reads a draft of an AFL-CIO statement. Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, is a member of the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

The Employee Free Choice Act (a/k/a “chard check”), which would rob workers of the ability to vote in a secret ballot when it comes to organizing, is going to be a tough sell to the American people. Obama may have been able to fear-monger his “stimulus’ bill through Congress, but taking away a group of people’s ability to vote on something that impacts their life as much as unions do isn’t going to be as easy. I’d be very surprised if Obama could pass this into law this year.
And there is a groundswell of opposition rising to card check across the nation. Here in North Dakota, as in a lot of other states, there are already developing movements to pass state-level legislation that would protect the sanctity of the secret ballot for workers. That would set up a legal battle over card check that the federal government, if there is any justice left in our federal court system, wouldn’t be likely to win.
Obama’s in a tough spot with this. Given how much the unions poured into his campaign, and how they’ve pushed for Obama since he won the election (they poured millions into ads supporting the “stimulus” and attacking Rush Limbgaugh), Obama has to pay them back. And card check is what they want. But in order to pass card check Obama and his fellow liberals have to convince Americans that the secret ballot is a bad thing.
Given how sacred most Americans hold the right to vote, that’s not going to be an easy sell.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array Halatbis

This will very likely pass. Pomeroy has already voted for this last year, and given the chance he will vote for it again. Our two senators C and D will vote for it as well, keep in mind the Democrats “owe” their big majority to Big Labor. They (Big Labor) will be repaid!
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

The unions have done so well for GM, Ford and Chrysler.
2Hotel9

Yea, you want the Union to be the ones harassing, intimidating, and threatening workers. Show us how you are a good Democrat and Unionman, tell us again how happily racist you are. Thats some funny shit right there.
Kidtransport

Sure, and from there it won’t be hard to do these recounts because the pol worker will be able to say: “I saw him vote Democrat”. Reminds me of elections in Iraq under S.H.
2Hotel9

Step one, collapse the economy. Check.

Step two, drive up prices of food and energy. Check.

Force all Americans into Unions. Check.

Only 2 more planks of the Socialist agenda, and in under 100 days. Wow.
robert108

These companies don’t care about your rights.

Completely irrelevant; it’s the greedy unions who are trying to deprive workers of their right to a secret ballot, not the “companies”(employers). The employers support the workers’ right to a secret ballot.
http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/ goon

The Employee Free Choice Act (a/k/a “chard check”), which would rob workers of the ability to vote in a secret ballot when it comes to organizing, is going to be a tough sell to the American people.

That sounds like VERY BAD Idea.
Jay

All this high and mighty talk about preserving the secret ballot is a joke. These companies don’t care about your rights. They care about preserving part of a broken system which allows them the time to intimidate, inudate with misinformation, harrass, threaten, and even fire employees. In theory the secret ballot sounds like a wonderful idea. But secret ballots, in an organizing campaign, provide for anything but a fair, democratic election. Anyone who has ever been through an organizing campaign can verify that the just employer who participates on a fair, open, honest field with employees is the exception not the rule. The National Labor Relations Board cases show that almost 25 percent of employees are intimidated by employers during a campaign.

These elections would be the equivalent of two candidates running for governor but only one candidate can actually come into the state and campaign. One candidate can force attendance at his speeches and rallies. The other candidtate has to rely on others to speak on his behalf during a 30 minute to an hour luch break. One candidate can kick a citizen out of the state, never to return just for speaking on behalf of the other candidate. What kind of fair secret ballot election is that? Could you imagine if we actually ran our government elections the way these NLRB elections can be manipulated by companies. It is absurd to think the system is fair and balance.

As for card check, it is perfectly legal to decertify a union with card check and no secret election. It has been done and upheld by the courts. No companies ever clamor for your rights to a secret ballot during decertification card check. They only jump up on the stump when it is considered for certification purposes. The court has ruled that card checks clearly show the will of the majority for decertification. Obviously, that should be the case for ceritification as well. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups fighting a bill that gives employees equal rights with employers are hippocrites.

If employees still want a secret ballot election under the EFCA they can have it. To say they can’t is a lie. It is true that they probably won’t though. Why would they want to take a chance with an inherently unfair and broken system like the so called secret ballot election under current NLRB rules.
Mickey

Union tools don’t even realize this will take away there right to privacy.

Obama is a neo marxist.
robert108

Which means Intimidate, Harass, Threaten.

That’s what the greedy union thugs do, and always have.
Bill

Another disaster with BO’s endorsement.
Buzz

is going to be a tough sell to the American people.

He doesnt have to sell it to the American people, we already voted.
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

Wow, that will really send the rest of our jobs overseas.
Buzz

secret-ballot elections in which companies can campaign against the union.

Which means Intimidate, Harass, Threaten.
2Hotel9

jay? If everyone wanted to be in a Union none of this would be necessary. Instead they would be flocking to your socialist nightmare. That ain’t happening, the exacrt opposite is happening. So you America hating shitbags want to force everyone into your Union by use of byzantine and unreadable laws passed by your bought&paid; for politicians.

Here is a hint. You don’t like your job/employer? Fucking quit and work somewhere else. Or even better! Start your on business, and shut the fuck up about how other people work and run businesses.
welder4

no one should have to tell or show how they vote for anything , bad law very bad .
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

All this high and mighty talk about preserving the secret ballot is a joke. These companies don’t care about your rights.

Well, to be perfectly fair, neither do the unions.

But I’m wondering why you think that excuses denying people access to a secret ballot?
http://suitepotato.blogspot.com/ sayanything-4808

Secret ballot voting is a deeply personal thing. It gets learned here in schools with class elections and the teachers being the zealous libtards that they tend to be, kids learn really quick to not let anyone know how you voted. When I was in school during the mock elections between Carter and Reagan anyone who was known to have voted Reagan was in for harassment from the teachers throughout the school for weeks.

The result of the mock election was landslide for Reagan and our analysis afterward showed a good part of it was resentment towards the teachers for their open stumping for Carter. Until enough went open on their vote for Reagan, the teachers were mean and cruel with remarks, but once critical mass was hit, they backed off and went quiet.

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Big Promise: Obama Tells Unions That The Employee Free Choice Act Will Pass This Year

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