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Labor Wants Obama to Take on Big Fight (Employee Free Choice Act Payback)
WSJ ^ | 110608 | KRIS MAHER

Posted on 11/05/2008 11:17:24 PM PST by Fred

Organized labor sees a historic opportunity with Tuesday's election and is counting on the incoming Obama administration to back its agenda in what promises to be a landmark battle with business.

At the top of labor's wish list is passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it harder for companies to fight union-organizing drives. "It is the most important issue that we have," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO.

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka, left, confers with the union's president, John Sweeney, Wednesday. Unions are counting on President-elect Obama to back their legislative agenda.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to fight for the legislation, but whether it is introduced in the first 100 days of his administration could signal how strongly he is aligning himself with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, say political consultants. Moderate Democrats and those who have just won seats in traditionally Republican states are expected to argue against making the legislation an early priority.

Unions failed to get major labor legislation passed under the Carter and Clinton administrations, and union membership has declined to 7.5% of private-sector workers, from about 20% in 1980, according to U.S. Labor Department data.

After unions spent more than $400 million on the election and mounted massive voter-turnout efforts for Mr. Obama, they're inclined to push for bringing the Employee Free Choice Act up for a vote early next year, believing they have a narrow window to get it passed. They're worried other issues could emerge to eclipse the legislation, and that business would have more time to mount opposition the longer action is delayed.

"This is one the business community is united on," says Dan

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bho2008; cardcheck; corporatewelfare; gm; hoffa; laborunions; lobbies; lobbyists; marxism; obamaatrufhile; pork; teamsters; wallstreet
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1 posted on 11/05/2008 11:17:25 PM PST by Fred
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To: Fred

I guess organized labor hasn’t read today’s New York Times:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2126736/posts

Get in line, suckers!


2 posted on 11/05/2008 11:20:02 PM PST by JennysCool (Internet Powerhouse)
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To: Fred

Hmmmm 400,000,000 dollars, y’all think there is some pay back ole Barack is going to have to come up with? And not just Barack, but all those dem senate and congressional races.


3 posted on 11/05/2008 11:20:48 PM PST by Fred (The Democrat Party is the Nadir of Nihilism and Obummer is a WHINING marxist)
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To: JennysCool

He owes everybody.


4 posted on 11/05/2008 11:23:22 PM PST by bergmeid
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To: Fred
The bill would give unions -- rather than companies under current law -- the choice of having workers vote for a union by signing cards instead of through a secret-ballot election. Card-signing is preferred by unions because it can be done without an employer's knowledge. With secret-ballot elections, companies typically have months to mount an opposition.

In other words, no more secret ballots on whether or not to unionize - how you vote would be known to all. The potential for labor intimidation and pressure can't be overstated.
5 posted on 11/05/2008 11:25:35 PM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: Fred
Filibuster !!!!!
6 posted on 11/05/2008 11:27:27 PM PST by factmart
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To: Fred

Suckers!!!! LOL!!! Too funny! They think Bambi can deliver!!! What are they? In 3rd grade!!! LOL!!! SUCKERS!!!


7 posted on 11/05/2008 11:27:44 PM PST by avacado
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To: bergmeid
He owes everybody.

If there were still any newspapers that weren't house organs for the Democrat Party, they could make their reputation and bundles of dough by looking into just whom our President-Elect owes, and how much he owes them.

8 posted on 11/05/2008 11:31:56 PM PST by JennysCool (Internet Powerhouse)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

Businesses should preemptively make sure employees understand the consequences of the 0bama tax plan vs the McCain tax plan.

The simple fact is that businesses WERE going to have more after-tax profits under McCain. Businesses now have only a few choices to achieve profits similar to what McCain’s tax reduction promised — reduce wages/headcount or raise prices. In a recession, raising prices is not feasible, so ...


9 posted on 11/05/2008 11:36:14 PM PST by Kellis91789 (Democrat: Someone who supports killing children, but protests executing convicted murderers.)
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To: Fred

The “Employee Free Choice Act” (read “we know who you are” act) will be the one thing that ensures Democrat wins in the future. Labor has always been part of the “swing” vote. It the reason for all the middle class giveaways. The low income/welfare are in the Dems back pocket for obvious reasons. The guilty white elite intellectuals would never jeopardize their professorships and teaching positions and media positions, so they also are in the the other back pocket. That leaves rank and file labor as the only possible ‘dissenters’ and it’s happened often enough to where anything, even using fear of losing their good jobs, will be used to keep them in the fold. This legislation does just that.


10 posted on 11/05/2008 11:38:10 PM PST by Kent C
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To: bergmeid

no kidding! day 2 and how many hands foreign and domestic have come wanting?


11 posted on 11/05/2008 11:39:08 PM PST by CanadianMusherinMI (drill baby drill/mine baby mine!)
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To: Kellis91789

I would like to add that the companies will relocation to another country.


12 posted on 11/05/2008 11:44:59 PM PST by Fred (The Democrat Party is the Nadir of Nihilism and Obummer is a WHINING marxist)
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To: Fred
Organized labor sees a historic opportunity with Tuesday's election and is counting on the incoming Obama administration to back its agenda in what promises to be a landmark battle with business.

Organized labor will certainly get the strong backing of an Obama administration on card check.

13 posted on 11/05/2008 11:48:00 PM PST by snowsislander (NRA -- join today! 1-877-NRA-2000)
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To: Kent C

The dems are going to do this in the first 100 days.


14 posted on 11/05/2008 11:50:11 PM PST by Fred (The Democrat Party is the Nadir of Nihilism and Obummer is a WHINING marxist)
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To: Fred
Until recently I would have said that this power grab - destroying the secret ballot - is shocking even by the standards of democrats. Now, nothing shocks me. Taking the secret ballot away is simply wrong at a level that even Dems should recognize. As Joe the Plumber says, "the fact is right is right and wrong is wrong." Fortunately, employers have a simple and profitable cure. If they are unionized by immoral (but "legal") means imposed by the Obama regime, the employer needs to fire everybody "for business reasons" and start over. It's cheaper and more ethical than allowing unions to represent people through thuggish tactics, and it's better to get rid of employees who won't stand up to union agitators than to keep weak workers.

What happened to the democrats of my youth?

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?" - JFK (Dem)

"Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret ... is doubly dangerous." - William Proxmire (Dem)

"Somehow liberals have been unable to acquire from life what conservatives seem to be endowed with at birth: namely, a healthy skepticism of the powers of government agencies to do good." - Daniel P. Moynihan (Dem)

15 posted on 11/05/2008 11:50:56 PM PST by MathDoc (Support The Affirmative Action President as enthusiastically as the media supported Bush!)
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To: bergmeid

I predict Barry’s hair will be totally gray within 6 months.

The guy is in way over his head, has never run anything, and now will have to tell his special interests to lower their expectations or he will be a one-termer. Meanwhile Putin is rolling missiles up to the Polish border and will threaten to cut off natural gas to Western Europe this winter.

Shouldn’t have believed your own press releases Hussein! Bill Ayers ain’t going to rescue your bacon this time.


16 posted on 11/05/2008 11:52:40 PM PST by BigBobber
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To: BigBobber

Yeah but he always has Daddy Soros in the wings.....


17 posted on 11/06/2008 12:01:18 AM PST by bergmeid
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To: bergmeid

Is Soros gets his way, we will all be Barack’s auntie Zeituini.


18 posted on 11/06/2008 12:03:20 AM PST by Fred (The Democrat Party is the Nadir of Nihilism and Obummer is a WHINING marxist)
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To: Fred

American businesses are facing tough times and what does labor do, try to put the final nail in them... Really brilliant people... And they wonder why business moves out of country...

Add to that extreme environmentalism making it nearly impossible to build power plants, refineries and just about anything else really important. It all comes down to spending huge sums of money for nothing. Throwing our wealth and productivity into the trash can.

We seem to be in a race on how fast we can go broke as a country and we are well on our way... God please save us from ourselves...


19 posted on 11/06/2008 12:04:09 AM PST by DB
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To: BigBobber
I agree. He has no idea whatsoever in what he's got himself - and us - into.

Look at Bush, not many normal people could have taken what he's taken to keep us safe. Obama isn't much for making personnel sacrifices or keeping his chin up while under extreme pressure.

20 posted on 11/06/2008 12:07:17 AM PST by DB
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