Sen. Sherrod Brown is not happy with a “compromise” version of the Employee Free Choice Act – and he’s one of the act’s key negotiators. This says a lot about EFCA’s so-called compromise even though details haven’t been officially announced yet. The Ohio Democrat admitted his dissatisfaction with EFCA – and the bill’s chances – to The Hill recently here: “In an interview with The Hill, Brown said ... Read more »
For an Administration that talks a good game about transparency, recent actions by the U.S. Department of Labor certainly don’t inspire much hope about citizens’ – especially workers’ – right to information. Late last week, the Department issued a modest, six sentence notification to Congress announcing plans to rescind a series of changes made to enhance union disclosure. Issued on a Friday befor... Read more »
This hearing is about how the federal government works with all institutions of higher education to ensure that the student eligibility requirements for federal student aid outlined in the Higher Education Act are being met. I understand that there is significant history on this topic before us and I look forward to hearing more about GAO’s study and the oversight measures that are being taken to ... Read more »
Kicking off the countdown of 10 more reasons the so-called Employee Free Choice Act must fail is a look at why – when it comes to jobs and workers’ rights – there can be no compromise. With EFCA seemingly stalled in the Senate, supporters have been suggesting “compromises” to the bill – including dropping its dreaded “card check” provision. But as several observers have pointed out, these “comprom... Read more »
Over the summer, we offered 10 reasons why the Employee Free Choice Act should fail. It was a good list, but incomplete. You see, EFCA has the potential to wreak such havoc on our economy and workers’ rights that it’s not difficult to find yet another 10 reasons why it should fail: 10. Substituting one bad idea for another is not a “compromise.” 9. A key EFCA negotiator is “not happy” with the “co... Read more »
Although the Employee Free Choice Act has (thankfully) not become law yet, some workers – including those in New Hampshire – are already getting a taste of the act’s damaging effects, courtesy of federal Project Labor Agreements. Project Labor Agreements were mostly banned during the Bush administration because of concerns that they drove up federal contracting costs while discriminating against p... Read more »
The perils of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act are well known: it’s a job killer that tramples workers’ rights and threatens small businesses. Equally well known are the motives behind the act: special interest union leaders are spending millions to change the way workers organize, a move that would dramatically increase their size and political clout. But while EFCA watchers have kept their... Read more »
In light of recent decisions by federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service and Census Bureau to sever ties with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Rep. John Kline (R-MN) is requesting a review of links between the organization and federal education, labor, and human services programs. Kline, the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, ye... Read more »
The following op-ed by Rep. John Kline (R-MN) – the Senior Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee – appears in The Hill as part of a special section on healthcare. Calling for commonsense, bipartisan solutions to reform our nation’s healthcare system, Kline writes: “The problem is that the current healthcare debate has ignored this common ground and instead focused on the most ... Read more »
If you want to know why the Employee Free Choice Act slipped into a legislative coma, ask Peter D. Conrad. Conrad wrote an essay for The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel explaining in detail how the act, which began with great promise thanks to presidential support and a Democratic-led Congress, has become mercifully inert for U.S. workers. The reasons range from a strong bipartisan defense of the s... Read more »
