A statement in a Los Angeles Times article entitled “Hilda Solis Deflects Republican Questions Over Union Issues” is pretty incredible: “Republicans are concerned that Solis, a strong supporter of unions in her eight years in the House, will bring a pro-union bias to the Labor Department.”
Cross posted from Indignant Desert Birds
That’s right. Hilda Solis, the Labor Secretary-Designate will get a vote today at 2:00 P.M. according to Senate Aides. The coming battle on the EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) is mostly what is at stake. Other than Congresswoman Hilda Solis’s husband owning some tax liens–in the amount of $6,468.00–there is no good reason for the vote to be delayed. Imagine that. A pro-labor Labor Secretary. Her husband has since paid those liens which for business-owners isn’t all that uncommon.
Senate Republicans attempted to pull her into a stand off on Union Issues in her confirmation hearings in an attempt to draw a sound bite, or a snide remark, or some other reason to deny her the position. A statement in a Los Angeles Times article entitled “Hilda Solis Deflects Republican Questions Over Union Issues” is pretty incredible: “Republicans are concerned that Solis, a strong supporter of unions in her eight years in the House, will bring a pro-union bias to the Labor Department.”
A pro-union bias to the Labor Department? Listed in the “About DOL” tab on http://www.dol.gov:
The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.
But what is all this about anyway? Previously Labor Secretaries were often ineffectual as unions were systematically busted nationwide over the course of the last 15-20 years; including during the Clinton years. There is a piece of legislation currently pending that could fundamentally remake unions and revitalize them. While not all unions are perfect, and there is corruption in them like any organization, it is important to understand what they have done for the American people over the last century in terms of worker safety, fair wages and have turned the United States into the highest-trained work force in the world.
The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800 which can be read here) is meant to accomplish a few things. Mostly, it makes the penalty for unlawfully terminating union employees three-times back pay and reinstitution; a $20,000 penalty for each separate violation of EFCA; and makes forming, maintaining and expanding a union easier.
Currently, the National Labor Relations Board is the arbitrator if strikes and union disputes affect commerce. The United States, under the inter-state commerce clause of the Constitution has a vested interest in the quick resolution of these disputes. It is an independent government agency created by Congress in 1935, under the leadership of FDR under the auspices of the National Labor Relations Act to “protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.” The EFCA would require that the NLRB accept a card-check to ensure that all members of the union have representation at negotiations and intimidation cannot be allowed during the secret ballot that may or may not be truly secret.
Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced the legislation, remarked that “The current process for forming unions is badly broken and so skewed in favor of those who oppose unions, that workers must literally risk their jobs in order to form a union. Although it is illegal, one quarter of employers facing an organizing drive have been found to fire at least one worker who supports a union. In fact, employees who are active union supporters have a one-in-five chance of being fired for legal union activities. Sadly, many employers resort to spying, threats, intimidation, harassment and other illegal activity in their campaigns to oppose unions. The penalty for illegal activity, including firing workers for engaging in protected activity, is so weak that it does little to deter law breakers.”
Now that there are 59 Senators (including Al Franken: we’re rooting for you, buddy!) on the Democratic Side, it is much more likely that cloture will be achieved. However, it is probably unlikely that Senators Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins will vote for it. Which means that unless there is a tremendous amount of pressure placed on them, or on rust-belt Republican Senators (Voinovich is a prime example) this legislation will not pass until the next Senate, seated in 2010. So if you want to see this legislation pass and strengthen the United States economy, ensure that you are working for the Democratic Senate candidate in your State, get involved early in the process by finding whoever you believe will be the strongest candidate in the general and start with them.
Also, send donations to Democratic candidates for Senate if you live in a state with an uncompetitive Senate race. You can do so through Act Blue. Heck, send them money even if you are volunteering for them.
Together, we can rebuild our economy. It’s going to be a fight. Let’s get to work.
And per the poll, Brad Woodhouse--President of Americans United for Change-- says it best:
Does Eric Cantor believe that peddling profanity-laced filth around the Internet is consistent with the values of the people of Virginia or the country? This is childish, inappropriate and disgusting behavior from someone who is supposed to be a leader in Congress and a role model to others. Eric Cantor's response to one of the most serious crises facing America in our lifetimes is to spread this filth, denigrate government employees and treat the current economic crisis like a joke. This video has been floating around on YouTube for years - but Eric Cantor's use of it in this context shows how completely and utterly out of touch he is with the current economic crisis and the lives of his constituents. Eric Cantor should be ashamed and he should apologize.
Update on the vote, courtesy of Talking Points Memo: "Solis' nomination will get a committee vote at 5pm today. The timeline for consideration by the full Senate, however, remains unclear."
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I actually volunteered in Minnesota for the recount, and went jetting back and forth to different counties...Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, and so on helping to organize counting sites for the Franken Campaign. For quite some time, given the weakness of the Coleman argument in the trial I had a feeling that the only reason why they are continuing is to sideline EFCA for as long as possible for Norm to get a payday at the end of the process vis-a-vis a number of Boards, etc. This includes other legislation that many donors to the Coleman Campaign have a vested interest in. Thoughts?
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Final Update; for those of you who are wondering about the vote in 2007 to figure out which Democrats are locked-down for this legislation, here you are:
Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Allard (R-CO), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Nay
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Coleman (R-MN), Nay
Collins (R-ME), Nay
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Dole (R-NC), Nay
Domenici (R-NM), Nay
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Gregg (R-NH), Nay
Hagel (R-NE), Nay
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Nay
Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Yea
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Nay
Lugar (R-IN), Nay
Martinez (R-FL), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Nay
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Smith (R-OR), Nay
Snowe (R-ME), Nay
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Nay
Sununu (R-NH), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Nay
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea