Something tells me that this is a theme that successful Republican candidates will be hitting on in 2010: Labor leaders are calling the shots in Washington, and taxpayers will pay the cost for bailing out GM’s health care and retirement plans, ‘protecting’ unionized jobs through Buy America, and spending hundreds of billions on public works jobs that utilize mostly unionized workers. If Card Check ultimately | Read More »
How’s this for shameless. The unions who support eliminating the secret ballot are trying to promote their cause by linking their effort to Iranian protesters angry at having their secret ballot stolen. Or maybe I’m being too pessimistic. Perhaps Card Check’s supporters have turned over a new leaf – impressed and moved by the videos from Iran of thousands of protesters insisting on the sanctity | Read More »
According to Senator Tom Harkin (D-Labor), the Senate may vote next month on a Card Check compromise: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) indicated Wednesday that he will be ready to bring up the long-stalled Employee Free Choice Act next month, following weeks of negotiations with key stakeholders. “We’re in meetings right now. I’m still hopeful that we can get something done,” Harkin said. The Iowa Democrat | Read More »
Roll Call reports that Democrats in Congress are starting to get serious about forcing the Obama administration to reduce the number of auto dealership closings: Lawmakers concerned about car dealerships being forced to close amid General Motors and Chrysler restructuring moved fast this week to shine the spotlight on the matter — and seem to have gotten the attention they wanted. The House Energy and | Read More »
ABC and others report that the Obama administration has invited union representatives to participate in conference calls with state and local officials, which have been held to set guidelines for how ‘stimulus’ money is spent. As first reported in the Los Angeles Times, California officials have said that representatives of the Service Employees International Union were given unprecedented access to an April 15 conference call | Read More »
This is the best news I’m likely to hear today. I’m also thrilled that Harry Reid is willing to ‘blame’ the Republicans for any delay in passing Card Check; it demonstrates that his political instincts haven’t gotten any sharper. God-willing Card Check will be soundly defeated, and Reid and the Senate Democratic leadership will hold a series of press conferences and public events castigating Republicans | Read More »
Barack Obama and the Democrats swept to power on a promise of doing more to restore good relations with key trading partners. To that end we’re selling Eastern Europe out to Russia in a vain attempt to deter Iranian nuclear ambitions, and we’re giving UK Prime Minister copies of Toy Story. And when it comes to treaty compliance, Congressional Democrats are eager to stiff Mexico, | Read More »
Update: It looks like the list of participants is considerably longer than Roll Call reported. Sorry to have steered you wrong. Although I still wonder what half the groups on the linked list have to do with health care! Roll Call reports on the White House’s list of groups it invited to send a representative to today’s health care summit: The White House delayed releasing | Read More »
Was it really just a few weeks ago that the United Auto Workers came to Washington with the Big 3, and promised to work together with management to ensure the companies’ viability — if only Washington would bail them out? Didn’t the UAW ultimately agree (if unhappily) to the requirement in the bailout that the companies reduce their labor costs to a level comparable to | Read More »
In the lobbying community, America’s high-tech companies have always had a reputation for timidity. They have historically tried to stay out of policy fights that could sully their above-the-fray reputation, in favor of issues that lent themselves to bipartisan coalitions. The bread and butter of the tech sector lobbyist is in areas like funding for science and math education, and visas for a few thousand | Read More »
What accounts for the sudden decline in the fortunes of America’s labor unions? Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that labor leaders helped elect the most liberal chief executive in modern times? Even before he’s sworn in, the debates over the automaker bailout and Card Check are making clear that as important as the White House is, you can’t succeed if your policy goals | Read More »
Tell me again why it’s such a good idea to strengthen unions by adopting Card Check? Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was preparing to issue an executive order prior to his arrest last week that would have allowed union organizing of home-care workers that could have benefited a labor union with close ties to the governor. The existence of this executive order, though never signed, illustrates | Read More »
Would you want to defy McDonalds? Two of America’s largest unions have denounced McDonald’s Corp. this week following Crain’s story that the company is mobilizing franchisees against a law designed to make it easier for workers to unionize. The Service Employee International Union encouraged its 1.8 million members to send letters to McDonald’s in support of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The AFL-CIO issued | Read More »
Representatives of the UAW, Ford, Chrysler and GM met today with Speaker Pelosi to outline their interest in a big new pot of taxpayer money: Lawmakers jump-started a $25 billion direct loan program for automakers as part of the continuing resolution (PL 110-329) signed into law by President Bush earlier this fall. It remains unclear, however, when those funds will begin to flow, a situation | Read More »
Regardless of who wins Tuesday’s election, the next great argument in Washington is whether there will be a second ‘stimulus bill’ (ie, bailout). Constituencies are already lining up. House leaders have heard from mayors, governors and state transportation officials, looking to Washington to save them from the balanced budget requirements imposed on them. Environmentalists are hoping to add billions to fight global warming, and other | Read More »
![[RS]](/t/img/logo-footer.jpg){kind=logo}