News List

Good morning and thank you, Chairman Andrews. I would like to begin by thanking our two distinguished panels for appearing today. We appreciate that they have taken time out of their busy schedules to share their experiences and expertise with us. Today’s hearing marks an opportunity to examine the impact of Delphi Corporation’s bankruptcy on its workers and retirees. I look forward to hearing in ... Read more »

With December upon us, the first session of the 111th Congress is rapidly coming to a close. Interestingly, one of the year’s first legislative priorities among Democrats and their special interest allies remains unfinished business in these last weeks of the year. The so-called Employee Free Choice Act (better known as “card check” legislation) was supposed to be a shoo-in for enactment. That is,... Read more »

Led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), Republicans on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions are calling for the head of the White House Auto Task Force to testify at a hearing this week on the bankruptcy of automotive parts manufacturer Delphi and its implications for workers and retirees. Republicans are using the single witness slot they have been allocated on the hearing... Read more »

With a decline in union membership over the last several decades, big labor is scrambling to attract more workers. It appears that conventional means of garnering support have failed. So, now union leadership is turning to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act in an effort to change the rules in their favor. The editorial board over at The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register reports that the mo... Read more »

The Washington Times editorial page is crying foul over recent efforts by the Obama Administration to pressure and cajole colleges and universities to abandon the most widely used federal student loan program in favor of the government-run alternative known as the Direct Loan program. “Despite the fact that the scheme is not yet law, Department of Education officials began writing letters as early... Read more »

The arguments for the so-called Employee Free Choice Act have always been dubious. The act’s supporters claim workers face unfair pressure in workplace organizing elections. Their solution? A public sign-up process notorious for subjecting workers to intimidation, coercion, and the threat of retribution. Talk about unfair pressure. EFCA’s backers also claim current workplace organizing rules are s... Read more »

If it makes the statewide ballot, an initiative to protect workers’ privacy in Nevada would be a good bet. That’s what the Las Vegas Review-Journal says in a recent editorial backing the measure, which is designed to prevent the “card check” provision of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The newspaper counts its chips here: “Paperwork was filed this week with the secretary of state's office t... Read more »

If at first your bill doesn’t succeed on Capitol Hill, try hiding your agenda in another one. That seems to be the new strategy for supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act as their bill slowly dies on Capitol Hill. Instead of pushing for EFCA’s passage, they are now secretly slipping key special-interest items into the massive health care reform legislation. Houston labor lawyer A. Kevin Troutm... Read more »

Two leading Republicans today called on U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to give workers immediate access to vital information about the financial status of their pension plans. Reps. John Kline (R-MN) and Tom Price (R-GA) wrote today to Secretary Solis requesting that her agency immediately begin posting to the internet a collection of pension disclosures that would help workers better underst... Read more »

Now they are getting desperate. In an attempt to save their dying bill, supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act are trying to introduce new words in the debate. The Service Employees International Union offered details of its substitution strategy in a confidential memo, and Politico lists the new lingo here: “The memo reflects the fact that unions and organized labor aren't universally popular... Read more »