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Canada and Card Check

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

It appears that America’s northern neighbors may be rooting for enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act – but not for the reason you might think. Canadians have plenty of experience with the public sign-up card check process for forming unions, and that experience has been anything but positive. In fact, card check and the arbitration that accompanies it have wreaked havoc on their economy, leav... Read more »

Statements by Rep. Platts and Rep. Castle During the Joint Subcommittee Hearing on "Strengthening School Safety Through Prevention of Bullying"

| Posted in Committee Statements

Today we are here to discuss the safety of our nation’s schools, with particular regard to bullying. While the issue of bullying is nothing new, its ever-changing face has unfortunately kept it prevalent in our nation’s schools. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, between fifteen and twenty-five percent of United States students admitted to being bullied “someti... Read more »

Card Check’s Secret Ballot Hypocrisy

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

Advocates of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act do support a secret ballot – but there’s a catch. Under federal law, secret ballots are used to dissolve a union. But when workers want to create a union, that’s different. Secret ballots, which have been used to form unions for generations, are put aside. Instead, under EFCA, the “card check” method is used, leaving workers open to intimidation ... Read more »

When Cutting Costs Means Cutting Care

| Posted in Left Turns

As congressional Democrats scramble to finalize the massive health care overhaul they plan to push through the U.S. House of Representatives this month, questions continue to mount about the consequences of their plan for American families. Independent analyses have already proven that the so-called “government option” is not going to be optional for the millions of Americans who will lose the hea... Read more »

Counting to 60 on Card Check is No Easy Task

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

With Al Franken scheduled to be sworn in this week as the 60th Senator who will caucus with Democrats, speculation has exploded about legislative prospects for the card check ploy. Congressional observers are well-versed on the political pitfalls that have so far stymied card check’s enactment. The plan – which requires union certification without the protection of a secret ballot election and cou... Read more »

467,000 Reasons Card Check is a Bad Idea

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

The U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly jobs report was released this morning, and the news wasn’t good. An additional 467,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of June, and the unemployment rate ticked upward to 9.5 percent. Policymakers in Washington should be focused on policies that will enable job creation and promote economic recovery. At a minimum, it seems obvious that lawmakers should... Read more »

Kline Statement on June Employment Report

| Posted in Press Releases

The U.S. Department of Labor reported this morning a loss of 467,000 jobs in the month of June, bringing the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, its highest level in more than a quarter-century. Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the House Education and Labor Committee’s Senior Republican Member, issued the following statement: “Today’s employment report is a somber reminder that American families are hurting;... Read more »

All Arbitration is Not Created Equal

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

As speculation continues to mount about efforts to advance an alternative version of the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, the legislation’s call for forced government contracts has come under increasing fire. In today’s Washington Examiner, a former Labor Department official explains how the arbitration proposal contained in the card check plan differs from better-known forms of voluntary a... Read more »

An Unexpected Card Check Opponent

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

The irony was obvious in last week’s report that the Service Employees International Union is seeking to toss out signed union authorization cards on the basis that workers were intimidated or misled by a card check union sign-up. After all, the SEIU is a very public backer of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would amend federal law to require union certification through the pub... Read more »

Kline Announces New Education and Labor Subcommittee Ranking Members

| Posted in Press Releases

Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s Senior Republican Member, today announced new Republican leaders for two of the panel’s five subcommittees. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), an orthopaedic surgeon, has been named the ranking Republican on the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee. The subcommittee’s responsibilities include nearly all matters dealing with... Read more »

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