LaborPains.org

I just got off the AFL-CIO’s kick-off conference call with Obama. What a tragedy of errors.

First of all, Sen. Obama was about 40 minutes late to the show. You can image how fantastic 40 minutes of Muzak went over. Finally, John Sweeney introduced Obama.

After rattling off nearly the exact same speech he delivered a few months ago to the AFL-CIO (see above), Obama preceeded to hang up. Click. Just like that.

Someone at the AFL-CIO muttered something like “is that it?” and then we went back to hold music.

A lady came back on and made an excuse, saying Obama’s line was cut off and that he would come back on the call. Minutes pass, and then she came back on and said that Obama had left the building.

Listen to the call here.

When it comes to honoring American traditions, Colorado Senate candidate Mark Udall is very selective. In a recent clip targeted toward union organizers, Udall claims that the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act is important because it allows workers to “honor the American traditions of collective bargaining and organizing in the workplace.” Sadly, the American tradition of private ballot voting doesn’t make the list.

In a recent YouTube clip aimed at union organizers, Alaska’s Senate candidate Mark Begich admits that he needs organized labor to win in November. He also encourages union organizers to pass out leaflets around their neighborhoods and at work–apparently getting in practice at visiting homes in the unfortunate event the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act passes Congress next year.

Recently Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado took a moment to discuss the Employee Free Choice Act with talkshow host Mike Rosen on 850 KOA.  He defends the secret ballot for employees, and calls the card check bill/EFCA “irresponsible”.  He points out that the private ballot is a tradition that we must preserve to protect workers from intimidation from unions, management, and fellow employees. 

         Senator Allard comments on EFCA

He also comments that any Democrat gains in the coming election will increase the chance of this deceptive legislation becoming law.  Democrat Congressman Mark Udall is running for Senator Allard’s seat, and as a cosponsor and ‘yes’ vote on the bill in the House of Representatives in 2007, he continues to support this legislation.  Should he win, the Democrats will be one step closer to trampling workers’ rights and opening the flood gates of union organization.  Coloradans for Employee Freedom agree with Senator Allard that this legislation must not pass for the good of our workers and our state.

Recently, Jeff Merkley was approached on the campaign trail and asked about the Employee Free Choice Act and the elimination of the private ballot for workers in deciding whether to unionize.

In true Jeff Merkley characteristic fashion, he tried to deflect the question and make it about whether workers should be allowed to unionize. At one point in the video below, he accuses the questioner of having a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the issue.

It appears that Mr. Merkley is the one who has a fundamental misunderstanding as he fails to recognize that it is not the workers who will have a choice under the grossly mis-named Employee Free Choice Act, but rather the union organizers and big labor bosses who will decide whether to use a private ballot or card check.

Union bosses and their organizers prefer card check because it means they know exactly how people are going to vote. For anyone who doesn’t agree with joining the union, they are more open to threats, intimidation and undue pressure by other co-workers, union organizers and even their supervisors. Workers can even be visited in their homes by union organizers so that the organizers can “persuade” workers that a union is the right thing to do in their workplace.

Jeff Merkley dodged the question of eliminating the private ballot because he knows that his position is indefensible. Once it became clear that the questioner wouldn’t settle for his answer (which had nothing to do with the question), Mr. Merkley decided to extract himself from the situation and get in his car to leave.

Oregonians are left to wonder: Why won’t Jeff Merkley answer the question? Why does Jeff Merkley believe that it’s okay to disenfranchise workers in America and Oregon by taking away their right to a private ballot in the workplace when deciding to unionize? Finally, if Mr. Merkley believes that taking away the private ballot for workers is okay; does he also believe that the right to a private ballot should be taken away from Oregonians in other elections as well?

At the Detroit City Hall recently, the Grim Reaper made an appearance with Jeff Merkley. Working together, they are trying to kill democracy in America by taking away the right to a private ballot in the workplace with regard to whether workers are unionized.

Mr. Merkley’s support of the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act (which takes choice out of the employee’s hands and puts it in the hands of union bosses and organizers) is an indication of his desire to disenfranchise workers in order to line the pockets of union bosses with dues who then turn around and support politicians like Mr. Merkley with tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

Even though they are working together to kill democracy, Mr. Merkley and his campaign staff didn’t seem eager to see the Grim Reaper appear.

In the first video below, one of his campaign staff has just instructed a supporter to keep “Death” busy and distract him. As the supporter is reminding “Death” that he has the right to peacefully assemble, Mr. Merkley’s car pulls out and around the corner to a side door where the candidate is waiting.

As “Death” follows the car around the corner, you can see Mr. Merkley talking with someone in the background and then as the camera pans back to “Death”, Mr. Merkley quickly jumps in his car and they leave.

After all their work together to kill democracy in the workplace, you would think Mr. Merkley would have spent some time with his friend, the Grim Reaper, to discuss future plans. Maybe Mr. Merkley is having second thoughts about his role in destroying democracy in America’s workplaces?

In the through-the-looking-glass world of Al Franken, taking away the guarantee of a private ballot to Minnesota workers actually gives them MORE privacy.  Huh, you say?

Well, according to funny man Franken, in receiving the endorsement of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, by our count the 22nd union to endorse Franken, worker privacy would be strengthened by allowing union organizers to strong arm workers into signing a card rather than maintain their right to a private ballot in which they can vote their consciences.

In his speech, rather than explain how less privacy was actually more privacy, Franken resorted to what he knows best, name calling.  He labeled us a “Norm Coleman front group.” 

This, like his description of EFCA, is obviously false.  Franken and his supporters in the Minnesota DFL party have clearly become a bit unglued by our efforts to tell Minnesotans about EFCA and Franken’s support for it.  But calling us names and filing frivolous legal complaints won’t stop us from telling the truth.  In fact, it will have the opposite effect.

Tom Allen tip-toes around the issue of private ballot votes for unionization elections in a radio interview July 23rd. Because 92% of Mainers are against having their right to a private union ballot taken away, Congressman Allen has a difficult time explaining his support while giving the radio station listeners a truthful breakdown of the bill. The Employee “Free Choice” Act takes away the National Labor Relations Board’s 70 year policy of overseeing a private ballot election on unionization.

While out campaigning for cash in every state besides Maine, Tom Allen has heard through the grapevine that Mainers are finding out about his support for EFCA. The Employee Freedom Action Committee has been successful in educating voters on the consequences of EFCA and about Tom Allen’s sponsorship of that bill. Allen has countered not by explaining his support, but rather tip-toeing around the issue and by calling for his opponent, Senator Susan Collins, to denounce the truth. Neither option will make the facts about EFCA go away.

Listen to the clip here.