‘Benedict Arlen’ Specter Flips, Then Flops on Union Card Check Bill
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on May 14, 2009
By Vicki McClure Davidson * Frugal Café Blog Zone
Sen. 'Benedict Arlen' Specter is flipping and flopping on the union card check bill
The labor-backed group American Rights at Work has aired a new TV ad in Pennsylvania, pressuring Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Should this bill pass, unions will be given more power than they’ve ever had. They will be able to boost and expand their membership numbers in ways never before imagined, thus exponentially increasing Democrat voter rolls and financially harming companies that are not currently under the thumb of labor unions (but will be forced to be). Potential end result will be a permanent Republican minority in Congress. Say adíos to checks and balances in Washington.
This onerous bill, given the gentle, misleading name “Employee Free Choice Act,” is not a “free choice” for employees. It’s a thinly veiled union power grab. It cannot be passed. Unions cannot be given this kind of unleashed power without dire consequences to American industry and government.
Sen. Specter, for once, do the right thing. For once, stop flip-flopping. Stick to your original convictions and don’t vote for this “union free-for-all” bill.
Yahoo! News: Specter raises hopes for deal on major labor bill
Associated Press
By Kimberly Hefling and Sam Hananel | May 14, 2009WASHINGTON – Sen. Arlen Specter said Thursday the “prospects are pretty good” for a compromise on legislation making it easier for workers to form unions.
Specter had come out against the bill in March, disappointing labor leaders. They had hoped he would be the crucial 60th vote needed to overcome an expected GOP filibuster of the Employee Free Choice Act.
The Pennsylvania senator has since switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and he said he’s been meeting with labor leaders and fellow senators in hopes of coming up with a compromise he could support.
President Barack Obama also said Thursday that he hoped a compromise could be worked out that would “get enough votes to pass the bill.”
A top priority of labor groups, the bill would allow a majority of employees at a work site to form a union by signing cards and would take away the right of employers to demand secret ballot elections. It would impose stiffer penalties on employers who threaten workers who try to organize unions and would provide for government arbitration if management and workers cannot agree on a first contract.
Specter has said he opposes the “card check” and arbitration provisions of the bill. But he does support other union-friendly alternatives such as speeding up the election process and giving unions more access to campaign at work sites.
Specter faces the prospect of a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., and pro-union groups have placed intense pressure on him to support the bill as a condition of their support.
Randel Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vice president on labor issues, said business leaders are against negotiating from the card check bill as a starting point “because it’s too radical of a place to start.”
Related reading:
Michelle Malkin: Specter, card check, and the final betrayal and Big Labor’s investment in Obama pays off
Hot Air: Specter on Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” comment: What’s wrong with a little ethnic pride? and Arlen Specter’s very bad year
Politico: Labor presses Specter on EFCA
The American Pundit: Specter Ready to Flip on Card Check
Peace and Freedom Promises: What Did You ExSpecterate? Arlen Betrays Trust Again and Specter the Defector
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