[Peace-discuss] Fw: Obama Back-pedals on Employee Free Choice Act

[unionyes]

It's starting already !

David Johnson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry Duncan" <lduncan at igc.org>
To: <lduncan at igc.org>
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 12:07 PM
Subject: Obama Back-pedals on Employee Free Choice Act


>
>
> Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009
> From: alan <ilcinfo at earthlink.net>
> Subject: Obama Back-pedals on Employee Free Choice Act
>
>
> Obama Back-pedals on Employee Free Choice Act
>
> For more than six weeks, there has been great concern among labor 
> activists that President-elect Barack Obama may not follow up on his 
> solemn campaign pledge to the trade union movement that once in office he 
> would move swiftly to enact the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
>
> This concern was prompted by an interview that Rahm Emmanuel gave to the 
> Las Vegas Sun in early December in which he explained that EFCA would not 
> be a priority for the Obama administration. The priority was "reaching 
> across the aisle" on job creation through an economic stimulus program.
>
> Then came the declaration by Hilda Solis to the Financial Times after she 
> was sworn in where she repeated the view that EFCA, given the current 
> recession, was not an immediate priority for the administration.
>
> Obama had not spoken about this issue until he gave an interview on Jan. 
> 15 to the Washington Post in which he presented his views on the subject. 
> The transcription of this interview was posted to the website on Jan. 16. 
> It is reprinted below.
>
> The interview speaks for itself. The back-pedaling has begun. Obama is 
> searching for another EFCA (he is willing to consider an alternative to 
> EFCA) in common with the employers - not one that gives workers the right 
> to organize unions so that they can lift themselves and the entire working 
> class out of the deepening recession.
>
> The trade union movement has made a solid case that EFCA is a vital and 
> essential component of any serious economic recovery plan aimed at 
> benefiting working people. In light of the back-pedaling, the unions, in 
> alliance with their community partners, will need to step up the fight to 
> ensure that this EFCA is passed -- not tomorrow, but in the new 
> administration's first 100 days!
>
> - Alan B.
>
> ********************
>
> http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/obama_on_the_employee_free_cho.php
> Obama On The Employee Free Choice Act
> 16 Jan 2009 11:48 am
> Here's a transcribed portion of President-elect Barack Obama's interview 
> yesterday with the Washington Post:
>
>  Q: The Employee Free Choice Act - a timing question and a substance 
> question: in terms of timing how quickly would you like to see it brought 
> up?  Would you like to see it brought up in your first year? In terms of 
> substance, the bills that you talked about in your floor statement on the 
> Employee Free Choice Act problems with bullying of [inaudible] people want 
> to join unions.  Is card check the only solution?  Or are you open to 
> considering other solutions that might shorten the time?
>
> Obama: I think I think that is a fair question and a good one.
>
> Here's my basic principal that wages and incomes have flatlined over the 
> last decade.  That part of that has to do with forces that are beyond 
> everybody's control: globalization, technology and so forth. Part of it 
> has to do with workers have very little leverage and that larger and 
> larger shares of our productivity go to the top and not to the middle or 
> the bottom. I think unions serve an important role in that. I think that 
> the way the Bush Administration managed the Department of Labor, the NLRB, 
> and a host of other aspects of labor management relations put the thumb 
> too heavily against unions. I want to lift that thumb. There are going to 
> be steps that we can take other than the Employee Free Choice Act that 
> will make a difference there.
>
> I think the basic principal of making it easier and fairer for workers who 
> want to join a union, join a union is important. And the basic outline of 
> the Employee Fair Choice are ones that I agree with. But I will certainly 
> listen to all parties involved including from labor and the business 
> community which I know considers this to be the devil incarnate. I will 
> listen to parties involved and see if there are ways that we can bring 
> those parties together and restore some balance.
>
> You know, now if the business community's argument against the Employee 
> Free Choice Act is simply that it will make it easier for people to join 
> unions and we think that is damaging to the economy then they probably 
> won't get too far with me. If their arguments are we think there are more 
> elegant ways of doing this or here are some modifications or tweaks to the 
> general concept that we would like to see. Then I think that's a 
> conversation that not only myself but folks in labor would be willing to 
> have. But, so that's the general approach that I am interested in taking. 
> But in terms of time table, if we are losing half a million jobs a month 
> then there are no jobs to unionize. So my focus first is on those key 
> economic priority items that I just mentioned.
>
>
> -- 
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