More evidence that the Democratic Party is more pro-labor than it was a generation ago. Where significant numbers of Dems once sided against labor in many votes, virtually every single Democrat is supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, the "card check" bill being pushed by the AFL-CIO.
Notably, even the Democratic candidates in Oklahoma, Georgia and South Carolina are supporting the bill.
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BNA Daily Labor Report Friday, October 22, 2004 Page A-4
Virtually All Democratic Candidates Pledge to Co-Sponsor Card-Check Bill
The AFL-CIO has garnered pledges from virtually all Democratic candidates but from few Republicans to co-sponsor a bill (S. 1925, H.R. 3619) that proponents say would expedite the union organizing process.
Out of some 30 close races for the House and Senate that the federation is tracking, "all but one or two" Democratic candidates have said they would sign on as co-sponsors to the Employee Free Choice Act, according to Andy Levin, director of the AFL-CIO's Voice at Work Campaign.
The bill, which was introduced last year by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), would require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union when a majority of workers have signed authorization cards designating the union as their bargaining representative (220 DLR A-3, 11/14/03).
The procedure, known as "card check" recognition, is legal under the National Labor Relations Act, but employers that are presented with such cards can refuse to recognize the union in that manner and can demand an NLRB-certified election. The bill's supporters say the process of organizing through NLRB elections can take years before election disputes are resolved.
Still Courting Some Candidates
Levin declined to name the Democratic candidates who have yet to sign on to the bill, stating, "We're still courting them" in hopes of getting their support before election day. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney "has been reaching out to people personally," he said.
"This is a big, big deal for us out in the field in those competitive races," said Levin. The Voice at Work campaign listed support for the card-check bill as the number one issue on its sample candidate questionnaire sent to state and local labor committees. "We've pursued the candidates to get the commitment that they will co-sponsor the bill. We've been largely successful at that."
Levin also said he has requested stronger statements of support from candidates whose initial statements were "weak." Most candidates have complied with that request.
Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.), who is in a statistical dead heat race with his Republican challenger John Thune, has not at this point signed on as a co-sponsor on the bill.
Daschle has been a staunch supporter of many labor-related proposals, including efforts to roll back the Labor Department's controversial new rule on overtime pay, which went into effect Aug. 23, and Democratic efforts to raise the minimum wage. But he departed from the AFL-CIO's position on a privately funded trust fund to compensate workers who were exposed to asbestos when he endorsed a proposal that would generate $140 billion in awards. The federation says contributions to such a trust fund must be worth at least $149 billion if it is to fairly compensate all claimants.
An aide in Daschle's office declined to comment on the card-check bill.
DeMint Opponent States Support
Democratic candidates generally say they support the bill, even if they have not promised to co-sponsor it. For example, Inez Tenenbaum, a Democrat running for an open Senate seat in South Carolina, responded to a state AFL-CIO questionnaire saying she supports the bill, according to a spokeswoman for the campaign. The spokeswoman did not indicate whether Tenenbaum would sign on as a co-sponsor if she is elected. Tenenbaum is in a race that is considered too close to call, vying for the Senate seat along with Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
DeMint, for his part, has co-sponsored legislation that unions vehemently oppose, such as the National Right to Work Act (H.R. 391), which would bar union security agreements under which employees are required to join unions as a condition of employment. DeMint also is a co-sponsor of the Secret Ballot Protection Act (H.R. 4343), which would ban the card-check recognition procedure in all union certifications.
DeMint was also featured in a July newsletter published by the National Right to Work Committee, an organization that advocates right-to-work laws such as H.R. 391.
DeMint's congressional and campaign offices did not return phone calls for comment on the issue.
Several Candidates Already Are Co-Sponsors
The decision to support the card-check bill does not appear difficult for most Democratic candidates, even those in tight races. A campaign aide for John Barrow, a Democrat attempting to unseat freshman Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) told BNA that Barrow supports the bill. "But it's not something that's been a major issue in this campaign," he said. The race between Barrow and Burns is considered too close to call.
While the card-check bill has not received much attention in Barrow's campaign, the aide said Barrow has cited Burns's position on the Labor Department's new overtime rule during the campaign. Barrow ran an ad on the overtime issue citing Burns's votes against House Democrats' attempts to rescind the portions of the rule that they say would cause millions of workers to lose their overtime eligibility.
Several Democratic candidates in tight races have already co-sponsored the card-check bill in the 108th Congress. They include Rep. Brad Carson (D-Okla.), who is running for an open Senate seat in a dead heat with former Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Rep. Denise Majette (D-Ga.), who is running for an open Senate seat in Georgia against Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).
Few Republicans Sign On
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) is one of only a few Republicans who has agreed to co-sponsor the measure, according to Levin. Specter has a history of siding with organized labor on such issues. "It's pretty polarized out there," Levin said in explaining why more Republicans have not signed on to the bill.
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), who is retiring, is the only other Senate Republican co-sponsor.
Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.), who is in a close race with Democratic challenger Jim Sullivan, is a co-sponsor of the House bill. Six other House Republicans, including retiring Rep. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.), have also signed onto the measure. The five House GOP supporters of the card-check bill who are running for office again are not facing tight re-election difficulties.