| Sen. Ben Nelson Is Primary Target Of Campaign To Kill The Employee Free Choice Act
As Al Franken prepares to assume his place as the 60th Democratic U.S. Senator in a theoretically filibuster-proof majority, it appears desperation is starting to take hold amongst corporate special interests fearful of efforts to create a fairer playing field for employees that actually respects their right to organize in the workplace.
I've been quite forthcoming about my qualms with some of the particulars of the Employee Free Choice Act as it was introduced earlier this year in Congress. But, there's no doubt that reform is necessary, and I've been confident all along that a compromise could be reached that would make for a stronger and more balanced piece of legislation.
Well, it now seems action on such a compromise is precisely what we can expect from Congress when it comes back into session after the July 4th recess. This has put big business on high alert, and they're certain to make every effort in the coming weeks to kill this legislation. It doesn't matter to them how much the legislation might have been improved. If it's going to do anything at all to create a fairer workplace where employees have an actual voice, they will work to kill it at any cost.
And, guess what, the first wave of their last stand to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act is starting tomorrow, right here in Nebraska, making our business-friendly Democratic Senator Ben Nelson their #1 target. The following press release was issued earlier today:
Today, the Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC) opened a new front in the campaign to stop the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), by releasing TV ads in Nebraska urging Democratic Senator Ben Nelson not to compromise on EFCA....
This new ad campaign comes as Democratic leaders are poised to send a compromise bill to Congress. The compromise is widely expected to amend EFCA's card check and binding arbitration provisions. Regardless of the particulars of the compromise, this bill will still be a tremendous blow to workers' rights.
"The ad campaign is designed to urge Nebraskans to tell Ben Nelson to oppose closing debate on the Employee 'Forced' Choice Act," said Rick Berman, Executive Director of EFAC. "This bill will take control out of the hands of employees in the workplace and allow outside parties to have tremendous control over private businesses through binding arbitration."
The television ads are scheduled to begin airing tomorrow across the state.
According to the Employee Freedom Action Assassination Committee (two can play that game), the EFCA will somehow be a blow to worker's rights by making sure they have a voice in the workplace. At the same time, they warn that "outside parties" are going to take all this supposed control away from employees that that they've never had and never will so long as the balance of power remains weighted so heavily in favor of the corporations.
As for the ads running in Nebraska, they can be seen here and here. The first relies on a cartoonish portayal of labor union thugs making ridiculous demands and showing no concern at all for the employees they represent. The second ad - made by a Washington D.C. special interest group - brags up the fact that Nebraskans have such weak organized labor because "we" are just too smart for that nonsense.
Both ads are highly offensive to every Nebraskan who is represented by a Union and make a mockery of the many victories won by workers over the last century only because a Union was fighting on their behalf.
This campaign is supposed to move beyond Nebraska next week. But, these corporate special interest's initial focus on Nebraska reveals that they're putting a lot of eggs in one basket looking to Nelson as that one vote they definitely need to break ranks with his Democratic colleagues, to flip-flop from his cloture vote in the last Congress, and to turn his back on the American worker at this time of economic crisis.
Now, personally, I respect that Nelson has so far held off on committing one way or another on the Employee Free Choice Act. He's recognized it was legislation that needed improving. But, unlike those who've just wanted any expansion of workers' rights killed on the spot, Nelson has also recognized that a need for reform exists and that this legislation can be improved.
In March, the Omaha World-Herald reported:
Nelson said Thursday that he would not vote for the legislation in its current form because he has concerns about eliminating the secret-ballot requirement and the length of time before mandatory arbitration comes into play. Nelson said he is reserving judgment, however, on whether he would support a cloture motion to give the bill an up-or-down vote. He said his decision will be based on whether the bill goes through the proper procedures and whether opponents are given time to offer their own arguments and amendments.....
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other opponents of the bill identify the cloture vote as the key vote on the legislation, putting senators such as Nelson on the spot. Nelson responded by saying that those same groups are fine with his tendency to support cloture motions when it serves their interests. He said he's trying to be consistent.
As the details of the EFCA compromise emerge, let's hope that Nelson's concerns have been addressed and that he will see that workers can't wait any longer to have their voices heard. Most importantly, though, we have to trust Nelson to stay consistent on cloture and stand up against the corporate special interests who are spending so much money to pressure him on this issue.
They're coming after Nelson because he's kept an open mind and actually listens to Nebraska voters. But, he shouldn't listen to anti-Union garbage. Instead, it's time for Nelson to assert once and for all that he won't play games with the Employee Free Choice Act and will allow it the up-or-down vote it deserves in the U.S. Senate. |
