From the desk of Steve Cabot:

It has always suited union bosses to paint employers as privileged ogres getting rich off the backs of their workers. Envy and resentment are emotions easily stoked and manipulated, and Big Labor has been shameless in using “us/them” rhetoric to distract the rank-and-file from the real workplace abuses, namely their loss of individual rights.

Times are changing, however. Workers have begun to shake off their shackles and support measures restoring their liberty. One of the key pieces of legislation codifying these reforms is the Employee Rights Act (ERA), introduced in August 2011. The measure has been bottled up in committee by the Democrat majority in the Senate, but there appears to be a renewed groundswell of support for its passage, with at least 70% of union households now endorsing its key provisions. (See my September 2011 blog entry below for more specifics.)

While passage of an intact ERA is unlikely before this fall’s elections, supporters in Congress will attempt to attach individual elements to other legislation destined for a presidential signature. I’ll keep you posted on the latest developments as they unfold.

In other encouraging news, freedom of choice for employers and their workers got a big boost when Indiana became the 23rd right-to-work state, the first in the “rust belt” to do so. Unfortunately, the pushback against forced unionism has hit resistance elsewhere in union strongholds like Wisconsin, where the threat (and actuality) of recall elections has weakened the resolve of some reformers.

Whatever the political developments this year, however, we know the Obama administration will continue to push its anti-employer agenda – with or without constitutional authority. And should you find your organization needing assistance with any labor relations matters, I encourage you to call me directly on my cell phone (215-990-3423) or contact Georgetta McCabe, my administrative assistant, on her direct line: 800-655-2042.

afl-cio · cabot institute · card check · Democrats · employee rights act · era · Labor Relations · national labor relations act · National Labor Relations Board · organized labor · President Obama · stephen cabot · Unions · Wisconsin · worker rights

From the desk of Steve Cabot:

These are challenging times for optimists.  I remember writing a year ago that as disruptive as 2010 had been for millions of American workers and their employers, 2011 could well be even more difficult.  I take no joy in the accuracy of that prediction.

But as much as we may feel like frogs swimming in that famous pot on the stove as Washington continues to turn up the heat, I do believe in the core strength and wisdom of the American people.  My hope is that when it’s time to write an assessment a year from now, we will have righted this ship of state, setting the stage for real recovery, and reversing the policies that have discouraged and divided us.

In this moment, however, I prefer to set aside those concerns and reflect on those aspects of life that transcend the sorts of struggles we all face from time to time.  I’m grateful for my clients – for their confidence and constancy – and for my family and friends who deepen my experience of living and bring joy in so many ways.

Yes, there will be opportunities soon enough to address the issues that confront us as employers, and I will be returning in a month to write on those important matters.   Until then, I hope you will find ways to offer and receive the love and support that is central to the significance of this season.

As always, for assistance with any labor relations issues, I encourage you to call me directly on my cell phone (215-990-3423) or contact Georgetta McCabe, my administrative assistant, on her direct line: 800-655-2042.

afl-cio · cabot institute · decertification · EFCA · Labor Relations

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

While the private sector has lost 8-million jobs since 2008, the public sector has added 590,000 jobs during that same period. In addition, federal employees, on average, receive twice the salary and benefits that comparable private sector employees receive.

Public sector unions and congress are the keys that unlocked this Pandora’s box of economic irrationality. Imagine a circle comprising public sector unions, public sector employees, and Democratic members of congress. Each benefits the other. Democratic representatives vote to increase the wages and benefits of public sector employees, and their unions provide the necessary funds for re-election campaigns. Once re-elected, those representatives vote for higher wages and increased benefits for the union members who contributed to their election victories. And so it goes, on and on.

The result, of course, is ever higher deficits, spiraling into the stratosphere of economic irrationality.

And the disaster is not just confined to the federal deficit. The disease has infected state and municipal budgets across the country as well. According to recent estimates, state and city governments have inflated employee benefit liabilities in excess of $3-trillon!

Now with the NLRB firmly in the hands of pro-union ideologues, an agenda is coming into focus of an effort to increase the wages and benefits of private sector employees to match those of government employees. And the NLRB will attempt to do so by making private sector unions, such as the AFL-CIO and SEIU, as powerful as their public sector counterparts. It isn’t enough that public sector unions have egregiously contributed to the possible bankruptcy of governments, their private sector counterparts now want to inject that same virus into the body of Corporate America.

afl-cio · bankruptcy · cabot institute · cities · corporate america · debts · defaults · deficits · employees · employers · ideologues · Labor Relations · managment · municipalities · NLRB. pro-union · private sector · public sector · SEIU · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

President Obama’s recess appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) drew immense amounts of criticism from corporate America, for Becker had been an attorney for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and his objectivity and sense of fairness were called into question.
Now Mr. Becker is living up to corporate America’s suspicions. He wants to overturn the 2007 Dana decision. What is the Dana decision?
When the NLRB comprised less ideological members than it does now, it had decided that card check was not only inferior to secret ballot elections; it also stated that when a company recognizes union representation of its workers via card check, the workers have a subsequent right to a secret ballot election to determine if they freely chose union representation or if they were coerced into their choice.
True to form, Mr. Becker not only suggested that the NLRB can impose card checks on corporate America without the approval of congress, but he and his fellow board members, in a 3-2 decision, have agreed to revisit the Dana decision. The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) reports that “[Mr. Becker] filed a brief for the AFL-CIO in the original Dana case, arguing that there is no essential difference between card check and secret ballots and calling Dana-style protections ‘bad labor-relations policy.’ Mr. Becker is clearly biased against Dana…and should not rule on it.”
We absolutely agree and urge the forthcoming Republican congress to make Dana the law of the land. It’s good for workers, for corporate America, and for the U. S. economy.

afl-cio · cabot institute · craig becker · Dana · Dana decision · employees · Labor Relations · National Labor Relations Board · nlrb · President Obama · SEIU · Service Employees International Union · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · worker · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is weighing the advantages to workers of reversing a rule that provided for a 45-day window to file election or decertification petitions, so that workers may not be influenced in their decisions by their employers. It’s obvious that the NLRB wants to increase the number of unionized workers by limiting the amount of time that employers will have to educate workers about the disadvantages of unionization.
Craig Becker, a dyed-in-the-wool union advocate, says that he has not reached a final decision. Yet, for a man who has vociferously promoted unionization, it’s difficult to believe that he will not shorten the 45-day window of opportunity. Craig Becker has labored diligently to ensure that employers’ abilities to influence union elections be minimized, if not eliminated.
In the spirit of the question, “Do you want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?” Craig Becker had told a senate hearing that he would recuse himself from decisions that would benefit his former employers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO. And now that Republican-appointed, NLRB member Peter Schaumber’s term has expired, the Craig Becker pro-union agenda is about to shift into high gear and speed up decisions that will benefit big labor. If there is any governmental institution whose actions will further drive manufacturers to foreign countries, it is the NLRB.

afl-cio · big labor · cabot institute · craig becker · employee · employees · employers · Labor Relations · National Labor Relations Board · nlrb · SEIU · Service Employees International Union · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · union · unionization · Unions

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) by Melanie Trottman, presidents of the AFL-CIO and SEIU (Richard Trumpka and Mary Kay Henry, respectively) have agreed to spend at least $88 million to elect pro-union representatives to the House and Senate this fall. That is an astounding amount of money which could certainly affect the outcomes in such states as Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Though the money will be generously spent in closely contested races in those states, the two unions plan on spending members’ dollars in more than 20 other states as well.

Both unions are significantly increasing their budgets from previous years, for they believe that in order to effect pro-union legislation they must have pro-union majorities in both houses of congress. Most of the pro-union candidates are Democrats.

The unions’ aggressive campaign, targetting millions of union households, will employ an army of campaign workers, each of whom will call upon union members and their families. They will ring doorbells, send out e-mails, repeatedly telephone their constituencies, and send out millions of direct mail pieces. The success of their efforts will be measured and then tweaked following the revelations of weekly polling data. According to the Wall Street Journal, 23% of the electorate are union members. That’s a sufficiently large enough number to determine the outcomes of elections in the most hotly contested states.

It is essential for those who oppose the Democratic leadership’s pro-union agenda to organize their own campaigns to defeat those who will be injurious to the American economy. America is at a turning point, and it is essential that it point to a future of economic growth free of union restrictions.

$88 million · 88 million dollars · afl-cio · big labor · cabot institute · corporate america · democratic · Democrats · fall elections · Labor Relations · members · SEIU · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · wall street journal · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

President Barack Obama, in an effort to shore up support from organized labor, said that he will push for stronger organizing rights for unions. One can assume, based upon such a promise as well as his appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, that while the Employee Free Choice might be lifeless, it will soon rise from the dead. (The EFCA is beginning to resemble a vampire that cannot be slain).
The president had made his revivifying remarks on August 4 to the executive council of the AFL-CIO. While the president received numerous standing ovations, he was warned that unions will only support those politicians who back organized labor’s multi-faceted agenda, which includes the passage of the EFCA. And the president stressed that his administration will, indeed, work to seek passage of the ACT, which – of course – he will proudly sign into law. (At that point, one can imagine another round of thunderous applause).
However, knowing that he cannot get congress to pass many of labor’s pro-union initiatives, the president not only stated that “We are going to keep on fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act,” but that he would use his executive powers to implement changes, ones that do not require legislative approval (e.g. the appointment of Craig Becker).
It is apparent that Mr. Obama is siding with big labor and against Corporate America. That is not only bad for American businesses, but it is also bad for the entire economy, which affects all Americans, including union members.

afl-cio · business · cabot institute · congress · corporate america · EFCA · Employee Free Choice Act · Labor Relations · National Labor Relations Board · nlrb · organized labor · President Obama · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

There are few instances when we agree with statements emanating from the Obama White House; however, one recent statement was absolutely on the mark.

An unnamed White House official reportedly stated to a reporter that “Organized labor just flushed $10-million of their member’s money down the toilet.” He was referring, of course, to organized labor’s efforts to defeat Senator Blanche Lincoln in the Arkansas Democratic primary. Her running mate, Lt. Governor Bill Halter, had been backed unstintingly by the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and AFSCME as well as lesser unions.

As if that event was not enough to put a smile on the face of managers across the county, an AFL-CIO spokesman named Eddie Vale without a wit of irony reportedly stated that “labor isn’t an arm of the Democratic Party.” At that, the smiles of Corporate America turned to grins.

afl-cio · AFSCME · Arkansas · cabot institute · corporate america · Labor Relations · managers · Obama · organized labor · SEIU · Senator Blanche Lincoln · stephen cabot · unionization · Unions · White House

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

Without having to get congressional approval, President Obama is determined to give union leaders everything they want. It is apparent that unions will soon have many new opportunities to organize formerly unaffiliated workers, and governmental agencies will provide all possible assistance.

To begin, the National Mediation Board (NMB) has made a major alteration to its 75-year old rules so that workers at railroads and airlines can easily be organized. For three-quarters of a century, workers who did not vote in organizing elections had their non-votes counted as negative votes; now, under a new ruling, if the majority of votes are pro-union, the union will have won the right to represent workers. This would not have happened if President Obama had not appointed a pro-union advocate to the NMB

Next, all companies that do business with the federal government will have to be union friendly companies. That means that they have to pay union wages, and that rule applies to all federal agencies. If a company received stimulus funds for construction projects, that company must pay standard union wages to its workers. Such a ruling will, no doubt, drive up governmental costs, thus adding to an already burgeoning deficit.

Perhaps the most dangerous element of the new government paradigm is the recent appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Becker had been the legal counsel to the highly aggressive Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Since he claims that the NLRB can re-write rules, one can expect him to find a way to make “card checks” legal, thus obviating the requirement for secret ballot elections.

The president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, is optimistic that “card checks” will eventually become law, perhaps by attaching it to an innocuous piece of legislation, or having his ideological comrade in arms, Craig Becker, change the rules.

President Obama campaigned on “change we can believe in.” The changes he is making are ones that reality forces us to believe, but they are changes that will do significant damage to Corporate America and to the American economy.

afl-cio · cabot institute · congress · corporate america · craig becker · Labor Relations · National Labor Relations Board · national mediation board · nlrb · nmb · organizers · organizing · President Obama · richard trumka · Service Employees International Union · seui · stephen cabot · unionization · Unions