EFCA Senator Specter A victim of FEAR, Intimidation and Coercion Tactics

Typical. After years of support from Unions, Specter turns his back on us. As President of a Teamster Local, I also direct and am personally involved in all organizing drives in Delaware. I know first hand what companies will do to instill fear and intimidatation in workers in their effort to form a union. As a prime example, I recently obtained 47 out of 51 authorization cards from workers at a retirement living home whose working conditions had become unbearable.
The Company, after being informed by the NLRB of an election, hired a Union Busting "Law Firm" (and I use Law Firm lightly). One of the "attorny's" literally lived at the retirement living home holding mandatory group meetings as well as spending everday, walking around, implying to the workers the company could move, could go out of business and that some jobs may be jeopordized. Of course, I was not permitted access to the facility to express the benefits of unionization or debate the "attorny". Of course because of the fear and intimidation the workers lost their election. These illegle tactics happen in every organizing drive AND MUST STOP. PASS THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT.

OK I understand, business related coercion is bad, but union related coercion is good. I see how that works. In fact there are many issues that should bother anyone who actually looks at the proposed act.

Loss of secret ballot elections, go ahead and tell me how “you don’t lose you right to a secret ballot election” under EFCA. In fact for the majority of cases that is exactly what happens. The only time that secret ballot elections still occur is if the union gets at least 30% cards signed but not 50%+1.

If card check is the preferred method why not apply it to all union related elections such as voting between unions for representation and decertification?

Unions say that they need EFCA because of management abuse in dragging out the election process. Statics however differ with 95 percent of elections taking place within sixty days of receipt of petition for election.

The facts are that this is just bad legislation. If anyone other than the unions (who believe they bought and paid for support of the act in last election cycle with campaign funds to Democrats ) attempted such a massive power grab, the proposed change would have died in committee on the introduction day.

Maybe unions should look internally at why they are losing market share. Two tier contracts, Bill Clinton signing NAFTA into law and the union just not doing a great job of supporting their membership are far more likely cause of their current membership declines.

I don't agree with the author's opinion. The democrats own the White House and both the Senate and House. There was an overwhelming mandate in November. What could Spector possibly fear? It can't be tied to the poll. There is more than enough money in the dems PAC war chest to ward off any attempts by Pennsylvania republicans in 2010. The Teamsters (see prior reply) could fund his entire campaign and never alter their 2010 operating budget. We know no one can harm him physically.

Perhaps he is afraid that if EFCA passes, companies will move more jobs from his home state of PA. Steel companies, hospitals, food processors, ship builders and others didn't threaten to close plants if they were unionized; they actually closed them- which was their right as a company owner. That's not union busting, that's free market business ownership and it puts people on the street every day. Until labor creates a value proposition for business owners, business owners have no incentive to participate with labor. That is their right under the National Labor Relations Act and their responsibility to their lenders and their employees.

Labor folks use the words "fear" and "intimidation" as a lame excuse so often lately that it has changed many people's (mine included) respect levels for them. If labor unions want to represent workers they are going to have to earn our respect. They have to be better and smarter than management at meeting workers' needs and create a real benefit to union representation. No law, regardless of how much political capital the unions think they have raised, is going to bridge the gap between the hapless unions and more informed workers who won’t pay dues without something of value in return.

If management has tipped the scales by hiring great lawyers and lobbyists then labor has to do the same. If company owners run successful union avoidance campaigns by using "union busters" then labor has to develop its own crop of "management busters" who converge on workers with real ideas about how to add real dollars to workers pockets. There won’t be a single vote for a company by its workforce in a secret ballot election if the union promises to really improve their working conditions and then actually follows up on that promise.

This snubbing of labor by congress isn’t new. It happened in 1994 when Clinton failed to drive through the Strike Replacement Legislation which was the EFCA of that era. It never passed although big labor and dems were assured that it would.

Finally, the fine gentlemen from the Teamsters made the point that he attempted to organize nursing home professionals and failed. I might suggest as a healthcare worker myself that we often judge books by covers. Grammar and spelling mean something to us. We tend to follow the most articulate bird in the flock. I am amazed at the lack of attention to simple things when meeting union organizers and officers. Spector isn't afraid, embarrassed maybe, but not afraid.

Maybe Arlen Specter is not changing his mind due to pressure or the tactics you describe. He is reacting to what his constituency wants. That is what these people are elected for - to represent the citizens of their state. If the citizens of PA do not agree with this policy and let him know it, then he should change his mind and vote as his district believes. We do not elect people to Congress to do whatever THEY want, even if it conflicts with the wishes of their constituency. That would be like a Senator or Representative voting for cap-and-trade when their state relies heavily on the coal industry for jobs and the economy.

Breaking News: LITTLE-KNOWN GOP CHALLENGER TOPS SPECTER IN PRIMARY, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY PENNSYLVANIA POLL FINDS; Specter’s Defection On EFCA Fails To Win Over Right Wing If Senator Arlen Specter had hoped that bailing on the Employee Free Choice Act yesterday would make him the toast of the town among his right wing critics, he probably woke up this morning feeling like he has a pretty crushing hangover — after doing a lot of drinking alone. Conservative groups and politicians, far from won over by Specter’s announcement, continue to hammer away at the embattled Senator, suggesting that his abrupt move on EFCA will do little or nothing to reduce his vulnerability to a primary challenge from the right. For instance, Specter’s announcement drew only mockery and scorn from former GOP Rep. Ernest Istook, the chair of the anti-EFCA group Save Our Secret Ballot. “Specter enjoys being the center of attention,” Istook said. “There has probably been more money spent to influence his vote on this issue than on any other vote, from any other senator, at any other time. He wants to continue enjoying the attention and the fundraising opportunity.” Doug Stafford of the anti-EFCA National Right to Work Committee added in a statement that Specter’s move should be “viewed with some skepticism,” adding that other labor-oriented proposals championed by Specter remain “totally unacceptable” and will enable “Big Labor to corral more workers into forced unionism.” Specter’s potential primary challenger, Club for Growth president Pat Toomey, has kept up the attacks, blasting Specter’s vote for the “big government stimulus bill” and dismissing Specter’s opposition to EFCA as merely the result of “a threat in the Republican primary.” It now seems clear that Specter abruptly bailed on EFCA because he knew that a new Quinnipiac poll was due out today showing that he’s getting crushed in the GOP primary. The poll found that GOP voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Specter’s stimulus vote, and it’s unclear at best if Specter’s EFCA position will do anything to rescue him on the right.

Bus company workers decline to join union after Durham Bus Co. battered its employees with anti-union Union-Busting FEAR. Intimidation and Coercion tactics

http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2009/0326/front_page/023.html