After Specter Flip-Flop: Unions' Grass-Roots Campaign vs. Joe the Plumber, Shill

Washington pundits and even some anxious progressives pronounced the Employee Free Choice Act virtually dead because of Sen. Arlen Specter's flip-flop on the bill. But the union movement is ramping up its largest grass-roots campaign ever, and quite willing to flex its political muscle on behalf of workers' rights.

Stewart Acuff, the special assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO, points out the scope of the grass-roots campaign -- and also sends out hints that centrist and Blue Dog Democrats can't count on labor support anymore if they don't back this bill as they did in the previous Congress. Not only has the AFL-CIO alone helped generate 55,000 hand-written letters to legislators in Washington since January, but Acuff has observed:

What grassroots American movement can in the span of one week run 57 letters to the editor in newspapers across America, send 14,000 handwritten letters to 10 U.S. Senators, and simultaneously plan 35 grassroots advocacy events with workers in 10 states?

America's labor movement, the AFL-CIO, can. Now that the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, organized labor's multi-state grassroots campaign is running at full throttle. Religious leader are speaking out for the Employee Free Choice Act to create fairness in the economy. Small business owners are sending letters, signing petitions, and testifying about the value to their business of having a union. Newly appointed Colorado Senator, Mike Bennet, says that at every campaign stop and town hall meeting, a worker asks his position on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Acuff said in an interview, "We 're going to escalate our grass-roots campaign, and there's no doubt that our campaign has overwhelmed the [local grass-roots] campaign of Big Business. I think the number of contacts between workers and workers allies with members of the Senate far exceeds theirs."

That's one reason union leaders aren't going to back down from the basic principles of the bill, or gut such key provisions as majority sign-up, even as some union strategist say they're potentially open to tweaking the legislation in ways that will keep Democrat support unified and could win over a few moderate Republicans. And that's why even the statement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday that she's looking for alternatives to the legislation doesn't doom the ultimate prospects for its passage, union activists say.

(In addition, the media spin on her statement falsely implied that she was abandoning support for the legislation altogether -- although it's troubling that she seems to have bought into the right-wing message that unions are bad for the economy. The evidence is overwhelming, as recent reports from Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Economic Policy Institute show, that unionization is a tonic for a troubled economy, boosting consumer demand and potentially adding as much as $49 billion to the economy in added wages and salaries annually for newly unionized workers -- if union representation rates became as high as they were in the early 1980s, nearly 25%. And it's clear from EPI's careful new report that unionization simply doesn't cost businesses jobs or lead to closures, even for small businesses.)

As Stewart Acuff says, " The Employee Free Choice Act is a critical part of the policy package needed to get us out of the current economic mess. We have a crisis in demand. Thirty years of failed trickle-down economics and free market idolatry, and stagnant and declining wages, have left too little money in the hands and pockets of America's workers to power the American economic engine. That is the root cause of our crisis. And those who think otherwise are wrong."

But most critically, Acuff and other union leaders are demonstrating a pragmatic willingness to do what's necessary to get their top-priority legislation passed, without sacrifcing its core principles. He acknowledges, "The legislative process is dynamic and the bill may be tweaked in the process. The AFL-CIO continues to escalate our campaign for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. We intend to pass it in the coming weeks. If the country's largest banks and financial institutions need bailing out after their own ridiculous excesses of greed and de-regulated fiancial frenzy, workers need the economic power afforded by collective bargaining...We will continue to work with the White House and the Congressional leadership to pass this critical legislation even if that requires adjustments along the way. "

Indeed, The Los Angeles Times also pointed to the unions' major goals for the legislation: "Unions say they are somewhat open to a compromise bill, but they insist that it must include provisions that make organizing easier, force companies to negotiate contracts quickly and increase penalties against employers that retaliate against union organizers."

It's not surprising, then, that on two fronts late last week week, Big Business and its allies concocted some new strategies to try to overcome the grass-roots advantage the labor movement apparently enjoys. In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for instance, business leaders threatened to halt a planned construction project that could employ 800 people in their area and, somehow, build it overseas if the Employee Free Choice Act passes. [My question: how's that going to work-- the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce members will relocate to China?] The AFL-CIO Now blog called it "economic terrorism," and Tula Connell makes her point clearly:

Eau Claire County said a project was derailed because of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. According to today's Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, the unnamed project would have brought a $50 million investment to Eau Claire County in the next five years, along with creating up to 800 full-time jobs, Brian Doudna, executive director of the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corp., said in a news release Wednesday evening. Construction was expected to begin this year. The first employees were to begin work in early 2010, with about 100 new jobs being created.

'Proposed federal and state legislation, as shown by this company's decision, can impact location decisions and limit the private sector's ability to create quality jobs for Eau Claire area residents. This is especially disappointing given the condition of our current national, regional and local economies.'

Yo, Brian: What's "disappointing" is the blackmail screaming out here. The threat by employers to destroy the community they theoretically are invested in just so those employers don't have to actually talk with workers across a bargaining table about what might make for a safe workplace, what they need to support their families and retire without working until they die.

That's bad enough. But here's the kicker:

`Doudna said if the bill is approved, the project will not occur--at least not in the U.S.'

Blackmail, big time. In short, U.S. corporations are saying: Give us unlimited control over the lives of our workers, or we'll go to another nation where "human rights" is a dirty phrase and "workers' rights" even worse.

To top it all off, a leading anti-labor front group, Americans for Prosperity, has announced it's recruited "Joe the Plumber" to campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act , starting with "rallies" in some Pennsylvania cities. Real, licensed, unionized plumbers, as opposed to the unlicensed fraud (and Snuggie model) who calls himself "Joe the Plumber," are angry at his efforts to pass him off as the legitimate voice of the working man. As Greg Sargent of The Washington Post's Plumline reported:

I checked in with Rick Terven, the political and legislative director for The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada. (Sorry, I couldn't resist sharing the full name.) He tore into his high-profile plumber colleague as follows:

"Joe the plumber is selling out real plumbers. Right now, labor law is stacked against real plumbers. Real plumbers want and need the Employee Free Choice Act as a way to empower themselves to join a union, without fear of intimidation or losing their jobs. Joe the Plumber doesn't speak for real plumbers.?

Terven claimed that the Plumbers Union, which says it has over 300,000 members, had done a survey of non-union plumbers finding that 70% of them wanted to join a union if they could do so without fear of retribution, though I couldn't immediately get the details of their survey.

Despite these "astro-turf" gambits by business lobbies to gin up the appearance of widespread hostility to union rights, the unions are pressing ahead with their campaign for the Employee Free Choice Bill.

America's single largest union, SEIU, has also chalked up an impressive array of political initiatives on behalf of the bill, and they're not letting one Senator's defection stop their momentum. As the union's online organizer, Brad Levinson, wrote to union supporters:

There is still a clear path to passing the Employee Free Choice Act. If anything, we're ready, in fact, to ramp up to make the case for Free Choice.

Here's what Harry Reid said immediately when the news broke:

"Anyone who thinks they're burying card check because of Specter's statement in an effort to avoid a primary in Pennsylvania should not think legislation is going to go away."

The Employee Free Choice Act essentially comes down to improving their lives. We're not about to give up on the Employee Free Choice Act, our members, or what we know we need to do to help improve our nation, our economy, and American lives. So, full steam ahead for us.

To start, here's Andy Stern's email to our Pennsylvania Activists directing calls into Specter's offices.

For years - even just last week on Andrea Mitchell Reports - Sen. Specter has said that there needs to be a debate on how we reform labor laws in this country.

So, why did Specter go ahead yesterday and decide to oppose cloture, denying a full debate on the Employee Free Choice Act?

We don't know for sure. There is this Quinnipiac poll though that was also released yesterday.

In it, former Rep. Pat Toomey leads Specter by 14 points in a GOP primary, and Specter is below a 50% approval rating among primary voters:

"Pennsylvania Republicans are so unhappy with Sen. Specter's vote for President Barack Obama's Stimulus Package and so-called pork barrel spending that they are voting for a former Congressman they hardly know," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Republican voters disapprove of his vote on the stimulus 70 to 25 percent. Democrats overwhelmingly support the move 87 to 6 percent."

It's not as if opposing cloture will cause GOP primary voters to instantly forgive Specter. In fact, quotes in the last 24 hours from members of his party and opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act show no sign of backing down, as Greg Sargent points out.

For instance, Specter's announcement drew only mockery and scorn from former GOP Rep. Ernest Istook, the chair of the anti-EFCA group Save Our Secret Ballot.

"Specter enjoys being the center of attention," Istook said. "There has probably been more money spent to influence his vote on this issue than on any other vote, from any other senator, at any other time. He wants to continue enjoying the attention and the fundraising opportunity."

Doug Stafford of the anti-EFCA National Right to Work Committee added in a statement that Specter's move should be "viewed with some skepticism," adding that other labor-oriented proposals championed by Specter remain "totally unacceptable" and will enable "Big Labor to corral more workers into forced unionism."

If anything, Specter's move has, in fact, isolated him more than if he had voted for cloture. Here's what Jason Rosenbaum says:

"Right now, there isn't an obvious candidate to run as a Democrat for the seat, and without labor's backing, none would like appear. However, if Specter follows through on this...his Senate seat in 2010 will become a top target not just for labor, but for the Democratic Party.

"People should be calling out Specter's political move for what it is. He's participating in obstructionism and he's making it harder for our economy to recover, all because he perceives a bigger threat from the discredited and dis-empowered right than he does from an ascendant left. It's a strange choice, and a choice that will likely cost him."

In addition, while there has been speculation that some centrist Democrats now have political cover to back away from the Employee Free Choice Act, Acuff also hints at the political dangers that await centrist and Blue Dog Democrats, especially in the Senate, who may be considering abandoning their previous support for the legislation. Acuff says, "I don't see how you win statewide in America as a Democrat if you don't have the support of organized labor."

That lesson, along with the bill's majority support among the public,hasn't been lost on a surprising number of freshman Democrats from politically conservative areas who are willing to buck conservative hyperbole over the legislation. As Politico reported recently, in "Freshman Dems Not Scared of EFCA":

Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) represents a conservative-minded district where organized labor doesn't have a noticeable footprint. She's ranked among the more vulnerable freshman Democrats, and there's no shortage of Republicans who are eager to challenge her in 2010.

At first glance, that would seem to make the Employee Free Choice Act political poison for her. Instead, she's a co-sponsor of the controversial card check legislation.

Indeed, Markey is one of a surprisingly large number of Democratic freshmen sitting in competitive seats who have signed on as EFCA co-sponsors and challenged the conventional wisdom that at-risk, first-term members should avoid high-profile positions on tough votes.

In total, 25 of the 32 Democratic members of the Class of 2008 are EFCA co-sponsors.

It's small wonder, then, that Karen Ackerman, the AFL-CIO's political director, among other union strategists, are still confident they'll get enough votes,60, to overcome any threatened filibuster:

"First of all we are in discussions with other Republicans," she said. "We never thought that Specter would be the only Republican we could talk to. We have a lot of union members in other states who are communicating with their Senators as well, both Democrats and Republicans to shore up support of this."

And Stewart Acuff concludes that, at the end of the day politically, "We'll pass The Employee Free Choice Act, and we'll restore the freedoms of workers to join unions and bargain collectively."

Comments

[newpantaloons]

05:14 PM on 03/30/2009

Good Article!

[zest]

07:50 PM on 03/29/2009

The union movement has been reawakened in the United States and it will take more than Arlen Spector's flip flop to curtail it. The American people have had it with corportations who hold workers hostage with healthcare benefits and then fire them at will.

[detwob]

03:24 PM on 03/29/2009

Why should my employer be able to limit and affect the ways my co-workers and I choose to associate. If we want a union the employer should not be able to affect that.

As workers we do not get to vote on whether the company joins anti-worker groups like the Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Manufacturers.

[CarmanK]

03:17 PM on 03/29/2009

We need unions to restore the middle class in America and to help rebuild the economy. The Corporatists and wealthy of this nation have demonstrated that they are incapable of sustaining a real Western democracy. The fee market is not free, it is very expensive for the workers of this country. Government is necessary to protect the common good and keep chaos and greed from reigning. There is not a single billionaire Walton still alive that earned their wealth, they inherited it, and most of all they tried to hoarde the wealth and as a result weakened this nation, shipped jobs overseas and encouraged worker exploitation in the work place. The United States is not a nation of kings, lords, princesses, princes and others toads that governed badly thoughout history. We have to put an end to uncontrolled greed and irresponsible corporatism in this country. Thanks UPS for dropping Rush
Limbaugh!!!!

[Soulsurfer]

11:13 AM on 03/29/2009

If these corporations want to leave, let'em go. Someone will fill the void here in the largest retail and service market in the world. Why exactly should we directly compete with workers from other countries whose environmental and labor laws are non-existent? Because corporate interests have bought our government representatives, period. Unions are accused of bribery, extortion, etc, but they've never done anything that the corporations weren't doing, the unions were just fighting fire with fire. Corporate media has succeeded brilliantly with getting their myth accepted, "Unions = Bad, Corporations = Good". Not all unions are "good", but that's no reason to abolish ALL of them, just like some corporations are not good, but you'd never consider abolishing ALL corporations. Workers need some kind of collective voice to counter corporate dominance of the work place. We brag about being the greatest democracy in the world, then spend 8 - 12 hours a day in a facist dictatorship. That needs to end.

[AnnfromCA]

10:08 AM on 03/29/2009

Joe the Plumber will either appeal to real working people or not. He has no special voodoo powers. The unions will either appeal or not. It's up to them to sell this.

So far, I'm not seeing a lot of that grassroots support.

[sasidechick]

03:05 PM on 03/30/2009

I am sure you don't listening to Rush, Ann.

[corwin]

09:30 PM on 03/28/2009

Are a lot of non union people clamoring to have this?I have not seen many Toyota et al employees quoted about how much they want to have UAW representation?

[pharm]

11:03 PM on 03/28/2009

Even though Toyota employees in Japan are unionized, the company "owns" the union. They are restricted as to what they are allowed to ask for. If the company even thinks someone in this country employed by them was a union guy/gal they would be gone. In the Kentucky plant they fired two workers for supposedly letting other employees know about Toyota`s plan to cut labor costs by $900 million over three years. Hundreds of workers knew of the plan, and the two were cleared by a peer review board, but fired anyway. In this economy, nobody is going to risk a $30 an hour job by preaching unionism at Toyota.

[totalliberal]

05:14 AM on 03/29/2009

Because they have zero guts and live off the gains of union workers. You think they would be paying that much if they didn't have to keep the unions out. Besides, Kentucky is a right to work state where most employees are allowed to work without paying dues but get the benefits anyway. They are known as 'Scabs".

[CarmanK]

07:44 PM on 03/28/2009

No Democrat will be able to have cover to hide a vote against the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislations is an important part of restoring the "Middle Class" and is must do in order for us to rebuild the American economy and its moral authority around the world. American workers have a right to a just and fair reward for the work they perform, just as the owners, managers and (idle hands) shareholders. American workers "invest their time, energy and talent" in American companies, they have the right to expect a fair return on their investment. Any company that is not loyal enough to the nation at this time of difficulty should be boycotted, denied tax breaks and allowed to drown in their own greed. If they can't be a part of the solution, then let them be ______.

[SPQR1775]

07:27 PM on 03/28/2009

Americans doesn't support an "inalienable right to labor ballots", where you get this mess from, stop falling for the okedoke, it is BS. Secret ballots allow others to stuff the ballot box with fake names and ballots and say people voted with card check you know exactly who voted. If unions were in Walmart and other major corporations Americans would have enjoyed pay increases in line with cost of living increase. Last year under G.W.Bush fuel prices and food prices increased and guess what wage remained stagnant. For 36 years under GOP rule save for the time of Clinton wages stagnated, under the GOP yet every year they gave themselves pay raises. President Bush even gave himself a 200K pay raise, the audacity of incompetence! Only a Republican believe in their heart they are doing the right thing while they enriched themselves while everyone else lives in poverty. The AUDACITY OF DECEIT, LIES AND TORTURE, THE GOP A FACIST CABAL OF POWER HUNGRY CORPORATE CEO'S AND POLITICIANS! CHANGE AMERICA in 2010, end the GOP as a viable party. YES WE CAN and we will!

[UnknownSoldier]

10:17 PM on 03/28/2009

Preach on Brother

[joebloe]

06:30 PM on 03/28/2009

Secret ballots are ALREADY gone......if you want to remove a union!

Removal of unions are currently done with majority "card check"

Why can't we join a union the same way?

[DaCoach]

06:18 PM on 03/28/2009

While I fully support the bill, it will not pass because of one reason. The vast majority of Americans insist on the inalienable right to a secret ballot. There should be no need to request one. If the unions insist on the need to petition for secrecy, shame on them. Make the right to join or disenfranchise a union subject to a mandatory secret ballot. It's the right thing to do.

[CarmanK]

07:49 PM on 03/28/2009

Bull!! If the employees were allowed to meet and have a hand vote or roll call on an issue, you are saying NO. Most organizations allow their members to vote their choice of secret ballot, hand vote or roll call. That is really the American way. And that is the way, employees should be allowed to choose to join a union. Since when is it okay for management to bully, intimidate or threaten workers like they did at Wal Mart and like they promoted at Citi in their teleconf last week.
Get real, if there were real freedom to join a "union" there would be no need for a Free Choice Act, most legislation is the product of de facto abuses of the policies now in place.

[sasidechick]

03:09 PM on 03/30/2009

Since when is it okay for management to bully, intimidate or threaten workers ? Ever since they have had the rethugs fighting against the workers and for the owners.

Don't you remember, St. Ronald Reagan breaking the air traffic controllers? They have been at it ever since.

[anelder]

08:56 PM on 03/28/2009

Reality_ TODAY: EMPLOYERS may decide to recognize todays signed cards or choose a secret ballot.
Cards are already the means by which this is brought up. Employers always go for the secret ballot and often manage to postpone this for a long time. One doesn't have to be too bright to imagine how they will spend the time.

THE BILL: Allows for the EMPLOYEE to make that decision.
If 100 percent of employees sign cards it just takes 30 percent of them to ask for a secret ballot to follow.
So the only thing that changes is the employee is the decision maker.

Also - if a union shop's employees want out of the union all they have to do is sign cards. A simple majority will oust the union. No secret ballot necessary.

A level playing field is necessary since the National Labor Relations Board is in dire need of a fix. However it is apparent thant making those changes would be a long time coming. This bill is the way government works. Changes are made in increments because government is toooo slow to rectify the big things.
I believe this is what Obama has in mind when he is currently going for all the big changes to correct so many of the 'stuff and junk' that has accrued over the last 50 yrs.

[unite4change]

04:37 PM on 03/28/2009

He's being paid to change his mind:

http://politicalpartytime.org/search/Beneficiary/specter/

[unite4change]

04:34 PM on 03/28/2009

This is a sideshow. We didn't vote for Obama to have these democrats to oppose Obama's vision for America. Contact the senators regarding their opposition to passing Obama/Our budget as outline by Obama:

Blue Dog Democrats - Senate

LEADERS:

Evan Bayh, Indiana - http://bayh.senate.gov/

Tom Carper, Delaware - http://carper.senate.gov/index.cfm

Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas - http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

MEMBERS:

Michael Bennet, Colorado - http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/one_item_and_teasers/bennet.htm

Mark Begich, Alaska - No Information Available

Kay Hagan, North Carolina - http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/one_item_and_teasers/hagan.htm

Herb Kohl, Wisconsin - http://kohl.senate.gov/

Mary Landrieu, Louisiana - http://landrieu.senate.gov/2009/index.cfm

Joe Lieberman, Connecticut - http://lieberman.senate.gov/index.cfm

Claire McCaskill, Missouri - http://mccaskill.senate.gov/

Ben Nelson, Nebraska - http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Bill Nelson, Florida - http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire - http://shaheen.senate.gov/

Mark Udall, Colorado - http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Mark Warner, Virginia - http://warner.senate.gov/public/


View their voting records at: http://votesmart.org/

View who's throwing parties for them: http://www.politicalpartytime.org/methodology/

[ThinkCreeps]

03:45 PM on 03/28/2009

Any surprise that JTP isn't for plumbers, one of which he is not?

If he'd actually bothered to get a plumbing license, then he'd be a plumber. I guess he could even have joined the JAPPFIUSC.

In fact, there's no evidence that there's any group of people, apart from the female Palins that the gobsh*te supports.

[Stanley]

03:37 PM on 03/28/2009

What if this isn't about politics? What if there is such a bad taste in the mouth of many who don't see organized labor as a "good thing"? The overwhelming problem is big unions and big business don't have a good track record with improving things. My father-in-law works for GM and he constantly tells stories of the unions making things worse, protecting the lazy and hamstringing progress. Many of the Republican voters in Pennsylvania who are pressuring Senator Spector are these blue-collar "Walmart Republicans" who don't see themselves as pro big business but really have little faith in giving corrupt unions more power. This may be the big grassroots push by the mighty AFL-CIO to grow stronger or their last gasp as massive numbers of autoworkers fall into the unemployment line. Is bigger unions really the answer or just an opportunistic grab for power by another group of corrupt and greedy powerbrokers shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic?

[joebloe]

04:00 PM on 03/28/2009

Unions are democratic institutions. It's members vote for bylaws, officers, and contracts. If its members don't think something is right they can vote to change it.

As far as the corruption charge, I understand the history of unions is not always as I would hope. This has changed tremendously, especially with the feds having reigned in the mob influences. Also I go back to my first point, unions are democratic institutions. They work for the workers they represent. The union "bosses" are in fact, elected representatives who do their constituents bidding. My union, for example, has strict reporting requirements concerning union trust funds, where it comes from and where it goes. There is transparency in all we do.

[sasidechick]

03:14 PM on 03/30/2009

Notice Stanley didn't say anything about the corporations? I know, it's only the WORKER who is greedy. I mean, come on, they didn't even want to increase minimum wage. You can work 40 hours a week and still live below the poverty level even with the increase in the minimum wage. They like it they way it is and dont want it to change.

Why do you think they are trying so hard to keep it the same?