Free Republic

The outrage among some of America’s most vocal liberals at President Barack Obama’s failure to expand government-run health care caps a year of disappointments for Obama’s allies on the left and raises worrying questions for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections. The revolt led by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean comes after a series of more contained disappointments among traditional Democratic constituencies that invested heavily in Obama — unions, gays, civil libertarians, Hispanics, and anti-war Democrats, among others — who have seen specific promises deferred and grand hopes of systematic change denied by an administration that has found itself severely...

If you want to teach those unscrupulous Democrats down there in that Congressional Cesspool the value a secret ballot follow these instructions. 1. Establish a small temporary office manned by two people in each congressional district. Post a big sign in the office “Your share could be thousands of dollars !”. 2. Put the following ad in the newspapers, on the radio and television. “Order your absentee ballot now – bring your blank ballot to the office listed below and receive your share of the canceled one trillion dollar stimulus package if the republicans gain the majority in the House...

Over the last few months we've talked about several instances of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) committing vote fraud in elections for in-home helathcare workers to chose a union. We have also reported on the shaky UHW election in Dec. of 2008. (Here, here, and here) Even with those instances extant we have more SEIU vote fraud to report. The SEIU is still perpetrating fraudulent elections, intimidating union voters, and trying to strong-arm members into accepting SEIU dominance despite what they may want. Recently the Wall Street Journal had another story detailing the SEIU's un-democratic actions... Read the rest...

The GOP victories reveal fissures in the coalition that elected Barack Obama. If you were watching television on Tuesday night as the election returns came in showing Republicans capturing the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, you probably missed seeing the biggest losers of the evening. You may have caught the concession speech of Creigh Deeds, who ran 12% behind Barack Obama's winning percentage of the vote in Virginia, and that of Jon Corzine who, after spending over $100 million of his own money on three... --snip-- Instead, support evaporated as Democrats from places as dissimilar as Arkansas and California...

As Virginia’s odd-year election approaches, Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds has unleashed a frenzy of promises to spend money on everyone he can think of. On Saturday Deeds campaigned in Southwest Virginia at a rally sponsored by the United Mine Workers union, whose leaders say the time has come to “take from the upper one per cent that portion of the wealth they’ve been stealing for the past 35 years and return it to the workers.” Dumb, but — if possible — getting dumber.

  From Pennsylvania Right-to-Work:Most readers are already aware of a growing scandal involving the pro-forced unionism Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in New York, Baltimore, Washington, and now, California. For those who missed it, ACORN representatives were caught on camera giving advice to undercover journalists on how to open an illegal brothel, launder its profits, and commit a host of other illegal activities.According to The Washington Examiner, teacher union officials have contributed over 1.3 million dollars (in mostly forced union dues) to ACORN since 2005.We decided to do a little digging into union financial disclosure forms on...

<p>I was surprised to see that Craig Deeds received a very nice size donation from SEIU. The reason I am bringing this up is because with the election just 2 months away and Deeds trying to make a stink about McDonnell's 20 year old thesis, I believe the real issue should be a person is known by who their supporters are. To Virginia voters and all voters, check out where your candidate gets their money from. That should also be apart in your decision in whom you will vote for.</p>

Controversial legislation that would make it easier to organize unions will pass this year, Vice President Joe Biden said today. Appearing at a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh, Biden praised the role of unions in building the middle class and said the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will make it through Congress before the end of the year, the Associated Press reports. That's a very optimistic timeline, considering that Democrats are already putting all their legislative muscle behind healthcare reform.

James P. Hoffa is now saying that if Obama pulls the "public option" out of his healthcare bill, it is not a deal killer as far as union support is concerned. Hoffa said that he was only interested in what was "doable" and that they need to "get something done… and declare a victory." Now let's take a look at these quotes from Mr. Hoffa, shall we? What does it mean if we aren't seeing obliged union support without integrity for Obama's healthcare coming from Hoffa's Teamsters? Hoffa is saying that he doesn't care at all what healthcare "reform" will...

"Thank you Cincinnati. Thank you, Ohio. Thank you labor," yelled President Barack Obama over the cheers of roughly 4,000 as he took the stage at the PNC Pavilion next to Coney Island moments ago. This followed fiery speeches by labor organizers at today'a annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati. This is the first time a sitting president has addressed the annual picnic, the largest of its kind in the nation. White House officials estimate roughly 10,000 tickets were distributed to the speech, which was moved to the pavilion from the park grounds because of rain. "This is a unique...

Organized labor is betting big in Virginia and New Jersey, where two critical off-year gubernatorial races are taking place in November. In New Jersey, where Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine trails Republican Chris Christie in the polls, the AFL-CIO earlier this month unveiled a web site slamming Christie for promoting an “economic agenda threatens the middle class.” The New Jersey Laborers’ Union, another Corzine backer, is set to open an on-the-ground offensive that will include assistance from affiliates in other states as well. In Virginia, Creigh Deeds has been flooded with more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from unions since winning...

Unions And Politics: Big Labor finally has a friend in the White House and allies in control of Congress. But it still doesn't have the public on its side. If anything, it's in danger of making more enemies.This was supposed to be the renaissance year for organized labor. With Republicans routed from every position of power in Congress and the executive branch, unions saw a clear path to long-cherished goals such as card-check and national health. Instead, 2009 has been a surprising struggle. True, the administration of Barack Obama has helped where it could, as when it gave the United...

A top Obama ally predicted Wednesday in an interview with ABC News that Democrats will lose their congressional majority in next year's midterm elections if they fail to put a health-care reform bill on President Obama's desk. THEY ARE HISTORY FOR EVEN TRYING TO PASS IT. THEY ARE HISTORY WHETHER IT PASSES OR NOT Our delusional and detached ruling class will soon be gone!

A top Obama ally predicted Wednesday in an interview with ABC News that Democrats will lose their congressional majority in next year's midterm elections if they fail to put a health-care reform bill on President Obama's desk. "I think we're talking losing control of Congress," said Andy Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union. "[The failure of health-care reform] would totally empower Republicans to kill all change."

WASHINGTON - Organized labor gave more money to congressional campaigns than any other interest group at a time when overhauling health care and easing the ability of unions to organize sit atop Congress’ agenda. Union political action committees shelled out $11 million to lawmakers during the first six months of this year. Ranking second were health care interests, which gave $9.5 million from Jan. 1 through June 30, according to a CQ MoneyLine analysis of the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). While labor PACs were the top contributors in the previous election cycle, the health care industry...

Irony Alert: Deeds & Obama at Hilton - Deeds Picketed Hotel Chain This Year - Deeds Flummoxed: Picket or Dine? - RICHMOND - Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins today noted the obvious irony inherent in Creigh Deeds' fundraising event with President Barack Obama tomorrow, given that Deeds notoriously picketed the very hotel franchise hosting the event. Obama is scheduled to appear with Deeds Thursday evening at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner less than seven months after Deeds joined hotel union workers picketing the Hilton in Crystal City in Arlington. "This is rich," said Chairman Mullins. "Creigh probably doesn't...

A group of senators are discussing dropping a key provision in the card-check bill in order to win centrist support in the upper chamber. But congressional aides and union officials said no agreement has been hammered out yet on an alternative to a bill that is organized labor’s top legislative priority. They stressed that that every piece of the legislation is up for discussion in order to earn 60 votes to beat back a certain Senate filibuster. A report in The New York Times Thursday said senators led by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had decided to remove the card-check or...

(Reposting since first go-round got lost in today's outage) ----------------------- A horde of union members gathered on Capitol Hill on Thursday demanding that a government-backed insurance program be included in healthcare reform legislation. At a rally fronted by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, representatives from liberal groups and organized labor said a bill that does not include a public insurance plan would not be true reform... Success on healthcare reform is a must for Democrats, Dean told The Hill. “I think it’s going to be a catastrophic problem for the Democratic Party if they can’t get this bill...

Union thug Andy Stern brags about his access to the White House. Why not? It’s good to be the king’s friend. Stern’s friendship with the king is really paying off. Obama has made few cuts in his 2010 budget, but took an axe to the funding for the agency charged with enforcing laws broken by union thugs. The Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards’ (OLMS) budget was cut 9%. At a time when all of us are tightening our belts and bracing for more budget cuts, the United States government is the only large employer still hiring. The...

June 25, 2009 Dear xxxxxx, As we decide which gubernatorial candidate to support, the fact that Deeds and McDonnell have voting records is significant. Kaine, having come to the Mansion by the way of local government, had no state level voting record to back his words. Deeds and McDonnell have shown their true stripes as they have voted over many years and many session in the Virginia General Assembly. The VEA Fund (formerly known as VEA-PAC) has not recommended a candidate, so I find myself in the delightful position of being able to discuss the positions the candidates are taking...

President Barack Obama is creating a White House council to handle issues that affect American communities and workers tied to the automotive industry. The White House says Obama will sign an executive order Tuesday to establish the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. The council will be chaired by the president's economic adviser, Larry Summers, and his labor secretary, Hilda Solis.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is getting squeezed by business and organized labor over her neutrality on legislation that would make it easier for workers to form unions. Feinstein was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, commonly known as “card check,” in 2007. But she is the only Democrat in the California congressional delegation who is not a co-sponsor of this year's bill, which is labor's top legislative priority. The senator has expressed reservations about forging ahead with such a fundamental change in union-organizing rules during a deep recession. “This is an extraordinarily difficult economy, and there are very strong...

'We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama," declared Andy Stern last month, and the president of the Service Employees International Union wasn't exaggerating. The SEIU and AFL-CIO have been spending so much on politics that they're going deeply into debt.

Reporting from Sacramento -- The Capitol's usual political alliances are being tested by the state's severe financial problems as interest groups scramble to hold onto as much as possible of the state's shrinking coffers. The relationship between Democratic leaders and some of their labor benefactors has turned particularly frosty: Many of the programs union members rely on for paychecks -- and the unions rely on for dues -- have been slated for deep cuts.

The next governor of Virginia will have little impact on the heated debate over the Employee Free Choice Act, but that's not stopping one candidate from using the controversial issue to win headlines. Former Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R) has spent several weeks repeatedly bringing up the legislation, the so-called "card check" measure that would make it easier for unions to form. At a time when Virginia, like the rest of the nation, is hemorrhaging jobs, McDonnell casts card check as bad for businesses that need all the help they can get to begin rehiring employees. "It's a big issue...

Big Labor: If you thought "card check" legislation that would kill off workers' right to a secret ballot is dead, think again. Despite public repudiation, it's back — with its advocates using sneakier tactics.The Employee Free Choice Act would permit the establishment of new unions solely on the signatures of a company's employees, taken either on the fly or with union thugs standing in their doorways. Besides denying workers a right to a secret ballot, "card check," as it's known, also forces federal arbitration onto companies for union contracts, ensuring that either unions dictate the wages they want or a...

A lawsuit arguably designed to be lost and friendly federal judges in Detroit led to a shredding of benefits for retirees. The bankruptcy of General Motors delivers an unwanted present to the roughly 472,000 retirees and dependents who once held some of the cushiest benefits in business. When the automaker emerges from bankruptcy later this year, those retirees will be the proud owners of a shriveled health care package and a 17.5% stake in the new General Motors (GM), their compensation for giving up a perk once estimated to be worth more than $60 billion. How it happened involves: an...

WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden, making a renewed pitch for a major change in labor law, told union leaders Tuesday that the best way to rebuild the middle class is to help labor unions grow. ... more at link.

He steals from Chrysler property owners and gives to the Unions!Remember during the 2008 presidential election when conservatives warned that Obama was a socialist in sheep's clothing and that his real economic plan was based on redistribution of wealth? The very idea was pooh-poohed by the hoi polloi who got swept along by the hopey changey siren song. It's not true they insisted. Obama's a centrist. How do you know we asked? After all, we reminded them that Obama is the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate. They responded: we know he's a centrist because he told us so....

Fifty years ago, Congress passed the landmark Landrum-Griffin Act to protect rank-and-file union members from malfeasance by union leaders. Senate hearings had uncovered serious corruption and other unethical practices inside the labor movement, and a bipartisan coalition emerged to shine the light of disclosure on union practices.Nevertheless, Democrats in Congress and in the executive branch have often attempted to undercut that law's financial reporting and disclosure requirements. Prior to reforms adopted in the George W. Bush administration, for example, one union could get away with reporting a $62 million expenditure as nothing more than "contributions, gifts, and grants to local...

Politics: When Barack Obama won the election, Big Labor's ambitions soared. It spent $400 million to elect Democrats and expected an easy ride ahead. A hundred days into the Obama administration, it's playing defense. Organized labor has only itself to blame. With goals at odds with the interests of the country, it should have adapted itself to the national direction or else localized its aims.But that's not the approach it took. In varying ways, the two largest confederations, the AFL-CIO and the Change To Win coalition, focused on two unpopular efforts.One is the coercive Employee Free Choice Act, also known...

Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 8:59 pm Biden, Fire fighters, and Mom-Mom From the Vice President's speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, DC: So I -- and I was in Philadelphia this morning.  I'm there a lot.  This morning my mom was operated on.  She's 92 years old, and God love her, she came through.  She broke her hip, and she came through the operation incredibly well.  I told her that -- (applause) -- those of you who've met my mom, you know she's fairly politically astute -- (laughter) -- and she still runs the...

Coming to a country near you: Labor contracts dictated by federal arbitrators who know little about the businesses they will be regulating by their decisions, and the advent of near universal unionization. The country near you is your country — yes, the United States of America. If high corporate taxes, increased dividend taxes, increased capital gains taxes, the anti-energy carbon tax and metastasizing regulation won’t kill American business, entrepreneurship, and innovation, this will: the wildly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) backed by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, now the far left party. EFCA is the top priority...

Vice President Joe Biden gave a warm and well-received speech to the AFL-CIO Executive Council at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida today. “And old joke…you go home with them that brung you to the dance,” the vice president said, according to remarks put out by the White House. “Well, you all brought me to the dance a long time ago. And it's time we start dancing, man. It's time we start dancing.” Biden noted that the National Labor Relations Act “explicitly says this nation's policy is to encourage -- encourage -- collective bargaining, encourage unions.” He said he...

President Barack Obama is in the second month of his administration and Congress still hasn’t passed the Employee Free Choice Act – aka Card Check – to abolish the secret ballot in workplace employee representation elections. So, the Big Labor bosses who spent more than $300 million in 2008 to get the best Democratic president and Congress that dues money can buy are getting antsy. Yesterday Obama offered an AFL-CIO gathering a video message reassuring them that “we will pass the Employee Free Choice Act.” Note that Obama conspicuously said nothing about when he expects Card Check to become law....

Capitol Hill Republicans threw the first legislative punch in the fight over union law on Wednesday, February 25. But Democrats could land a haymaker of their own later with a bill that is much more likely to obtain congressional approval. Members of the House and Senate GOP introduced a bill that would mandate secret-ballot elections to form a union. The measure is meant to counter a bill Democrats could debut any day that would make it easier for employees to organize. Called the Employee Free Choice Act, the Democratic bill would force companies to recognize unions when a majority of...

Boehner Condemns Provision Tucked in Democrats’ Secret $410 Billion Spending Bill to Kill D.C. School Choice Program Language Designed to Eliminate Program Was Kept Secret by Democratic Congressional Leaders for Weeks, Never Passed by Committee Washington, Feb 23House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today condemned a provision tucked into Congressional Democrats’ $410 billion “omnibus” spending bill that would phase out the District of Columbia’s groundbreaking school choice program, which has provided educational opportunities for thousands of inner-city children since it was established with bipartisan support in 2004. Boehner issued the following statement: “The D.C. school choice program has provided hope...

After a month in complete control of the federal government, Democrats in Congress and the White House have quickly dispensed with any notion that we have entered into a new post-partisan era of governance. Their campaign claims of wanting to govern inclusively were greeted with optimism by the more gullible among us. However, their recent actions leave no doubt as to their true intentions. They will push through whatever they want whenever they want. The minority party need not participate. Their first order of business was the wasteful $787 billion economic stimulus bill, rushed through Congress with no Republican votes...

Taxes trouble some payers By PHILIP JANKOWSKI Tax season is here, and for prospective appointees to President Barack Obama’s cabinet, it couldn’t be clearer that sometimes taxes go unpaid. With the announcement that Secretary of Labor appointee Hilda Solis’ husband has $6,400 of unpaid taxes from his business, the tally is now four would-be cabinet members with issues regarding their tax returns. Solis joins Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, former chief performance officer nominee Nancy Killefer and former health secretary nominee Tom Daschle as the latest member of the Obama administration with issues. It begs the question: If these appointees who,...

<p>“President Obama’s executive order will drive up the cost of government at a time when we should be doing everything possible to save taxpayer dollars. Federal contracts should go to the businesses that can offer taxpayers the best value – not just the unions who supported the Democrats’ campaigns last year. Quietly signing executive orders to payback campaign backers undermines Obama promise to change Washington. It is a disappointment for Americans hoping for more transparency and less politics as usual in Washington.”</p>

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EXECUTIVEORDERUSEOFPROJECTLABORAGREEMENTSFORFEDERALCONSTRUCTIONPROJECTS/ Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am EXECUTIVE ORDER: USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 6, 2009 EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 101 et seq., and in order to promote the efficient administration and...

The proposed $140 billion in education funds included in the $819-billion stimulus bill that passed in the House last week might do little to stimulate the economy in the short-term and some are doubtful that it will have any significant long-term value either. Conservatives and tax-limitation groups are raising concerns over whether the federal government should be reaching so deeply into what is typically regarded as an area left to state and local authority. “This would be the most direct intrusion into fiscal policy making in education ever,” said Pete Sepp, vice president for communications at the National Taxpayers Union....

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders Friday that he said should "level the playing field" for labor unions in their struggles with management. Obama also used the occasion at the White House to announce formally a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans. He named Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman. Union officials say the new orders by Obama will undo Bush administration policies that favored employers over workers.

We keep hearing that we are in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression, but occasionally even the liberal media are forced to report the facts, even if they gloss over them: On a day when the nation's gross domestic product suffered its worst slide in three decades, President Obama ordered the creation of a task force on the middle class and signed executive orders aimed at strengthening labor unions. Worst slide in three decades? Golly, whose presidency was it that caused the slide three decades ago? Ah yes, the President whose name must not be mentioned...

WASHINGTON---- President Barack Obama intends to overturn four Bush-era executive orders that unions opposed, officials said Thursday. Obama planned to reverse one order Friday that allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they were allowed to decertify their union, an order some claim is unfair because nonunion businesses are not required to post signs letting workers know they were legally allowed to vote for a union.

President Barack Obama warmly welcomed trade union leaders into the White House as he reversed restrictions on organised labour set up by the Bush administration. Promising to "level the playing field" for workers, he offered the most pro-union sentiments heard from a US president for many years. "I do not view the labour movement as part of the problem. To me, it's part of the solution," said Mr Obama, who was accused of being a Socialist by the Republican Right during the election campaign. He was speaking at the launch of a Task Force for Middle Class and Working Families...

The National Labor Relations Board (nlrb.gov) is a federal agency created to monitor and administer federal laws that govern the relationship between labor unions and business owners and corporations and to this board, Barack Obama has appointed as its chair a woman that does not seem to believe much in individual freedom but seems more interested in collectivism. To you and me that might be considered a communist ideal, but even if she doesn't take it that far it is certainly an adversarial idea to individual freedom and the rights of business. Last week, Obama named to the NLRB Wilma...

US Congress: Pass Employee Free Choice Act Proposed Law Protects Right to Organize, Bargain Collectively JANUARY 27, 2009 Download the report "The Employee Free Choice Act: A Human Rights Imperative" Weak US labor law effectively denies millions of workers the right to form a union and bargain collectively. Congress should bring worker protections closer to international standards by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade for Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC) - US lawmakers should back a proposed law to strengthen protections for workers who are trying to organize a union and...

At least five states - Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada, and Utah - are working towards placing constitutional amendments on their 2010 ballots to override the anticipated federal action. State-level legislation would run into a program vis-a-vis federal legislation because of the Preemption Doctrine.

Responsibility has a way of focusing the mind. Take Mark Pryor, Democratic senator from Arkansas. In 2007, Mr. Pryor voted to move card check, Big Labor's No. 1 priority. And why not? Mr. Pryor knew the GOP would block the bill, which gets rid of secret ballots in union elections. Besides, his support helped guarantee labor wouldn't field a challenger to him in the primary. Postelection, Mr. Pryor isn't so committed. He's indicated he wouldn't co-sponsor the legislation again. He says he'd like to find common ground between labor and business. He is telling people the bill isn't on a...