Unions Win Big in First Days of Obama Administration by CHQ News Staff MARCH 19, 2009 – Big Labor has made tremendous progress in getting key issues approved during the first days of the Obama administration. Many recent legislative nuances of high profile bills have been concessions to Big Labor, including a "Buy American" clause in Obama's $787 billion stimulus package. The "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill would require only American steel and iron be used in any federally funded stimulus project, which could send construction costs soaring. Supporters of the Buy American provision say that any projects created by the stimulus package should maximize the dollars to create jobs for Americans. However, foreign nations who feel slighted by American protectionism in the stimulus plan are threatening retaliatory measures in response, which will spell disaster for American exports and U.S. jobs that depend on those exports. Indiana Democrat Rep. Peter Visclosky, who received more than $40,000 from steel and iron related PACs during his reelection campaign this year, introduced the provision. In addition to these policies pushed for by Big Labor, a bill currently in front of Congress would eliminate the use of secret ballots for employees to select a union. The "card-check" policy, which goes against standard employment practices for the rest of the world, has long been a project of American unions. Should the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) pass, employees would potentially be forced to vote publicly on creating unions in front of Union bosses, exposing employees to threats or other forms of coercion. "Even prisoners of war, under the Geneva Conventions, are guaranteed the right to a secret ballot when electing their representatives," United States Council for International Business (USCIB) Adam Greene, who is the vice president of the organization's labor and corporate responsibility division. Despite the threat to the freedom of U.S. workers, Obama promised AFL-CIO officials the bill would pass. Earlier this year, Obama stated his desire to "reverse many of the policies towards organized labor that we’ve seen these last eight years." As a result, Big Labor has won huge concessions from Congress while American workers are left out in the cold and U.S. consumers face the consequences of trade wars with foreign nations. -30-
- Unions Win Big in Obama's First Days (3/19/2009) - More 'Tea Parties' Spring Up Across the Nation (3/09/2009) - Steele Trades Barbs With Limbaugh, Apologizes (3/04/2009) - State Charity Regulators Should Explain Plans to Deal With Fraud in Stimulus Bill (3/03/2009) February 2009 - Obama's Spending Plans Clash with Call for Fiscal Restraint (2/26/2009) - Some GOP Governors Weigh Rejecting Parts of Stimulus Money (2/23/2009) - Mileage Tax, GPS Tracking May be Future for U.S. Drivers (2/20/2009) - Mixed Signals on Fairness Doctrine Create Confusion (2/20/2009) - Conservatives Oppose American Automakers' Request for More Government Aid (2/18/2009) - Conservatives Furious Over Talks of 'Nationalization' (2/16/2009) - Rebellious Republican Senators Face Wrath of Conservatives After Stimulus Vote (2/11/2009) - Stimulus Plan Mutates as Compromises, Alternatives are Proposed (2/06/2009) - Two More Obama Nominees Withdraw After Revelations of Tax Evasion (2/04/2009) - Steele Faces Challenges in Rebuilding GOP (2/02/2009) January 2009 - Even if Stimulus Passes, Republicans Can Still Win (1/30/2009) - Claims of "Protectionism" Dog Obama's Stimulus Plan (1/29/2009) - Conservatives Wary About Republican Opposition to Stimulus Package (1/28/2009) - New "Green" Regulations Threaten American Automakers (1/28/2009) |
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