Research Briefing

Obama Spends Some Quality Time With Union Bosses While Americans Continue To Suffer From An Uncertain Economic Climate

“President Obama Will Spend Labor Day Alongside AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, The Union Announced Monday. Obama, Secretary Of Labor Hilda Solis And Trumka Will All Participate In A Labor Day ‘Celebration And Rally’ In Milwaukee On Monday...” (Michael O’Brien, “Obama To Appear At Labor Day Rally With AFL-CIO President,” The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, 8/3010)

UNION BOSSES HELPED GET OBAMA ELECTED

AND ARE NOW SPENDING MILLIONS TO KEEP DEMS IN POWER

Obama Owes A Lot To Organized Labor For Helping Him Get Elected. “The Obama administration owes organized labor a lot for its victory in the presidential election, Vice President Biden said Tuesday, and will continue to push for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and other union-backed measures. ‘Everybody looks back on the election now and says it was a piece of cake,’ Biden said during a speech before a conference of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). ‘But let me tell you: You made it cake.’” (Michael O’Brien, “Biden To Labor Group: We Owe You,” The Hill, 5/12/09)

• Vice President Biden To Union Bosses: “[W]e Owe You.” (Michael O’Brien, “Biden To Labor Group: We Owe You,” The Hill, 5/12/09)

Former SEIU President Andy Stern: “We Spent A Fortune To Elect Barack Obama — $60.7 Million To Be Exact — And We’re Proud Of It.” (Michael Mishak, “Unplugged: The SEIU Chief On The Labor Movement And The Card Check,” The Las Vegas Sun, 5/10/09)

Unions Are Now Ramping Up Their Political Programs, And “Plan To Be Fully Engaged In The Midterm Elections.” “Unions are shifting their election-year political programs into the next gear. The AFL-CIO on Monday began distributing more than 300,000 political fliers to members at 164 worksites in 23 states. The two-week program by the labor group signals that unions plan to be fully engaged in the midterm elections. ‘People aren’t interested in campaign slogans or promises; they want results,’ AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. ‘If politicians are fighting for working families, then we will work our hearts out for them. If they aren’t delivering and think they can take our support for granted, then they may be awfully lonely come November.’” (Kevin Bogardus, “Unions Step 2010 Election Pressure,” The Hill, 7/12/10)

“The AFL-CIO Says It Will Spend More Than $40 Million To Back Candidates And Mobilize Residents Of Union-Member Households To Vote In November, Overwhelmingly In Support Of Democrats.” (Neil King Jr., “Outlook Dimming For Democrats,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/2/10)

•  “AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Said Wednesday That The Organization Will Get Involved In More Than 400 Elections In 26 States, Including More Than 70 House Races.” (Neil King Jr., “Outlook Dimming For Democrats,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/2/10)

AFSCME Plans To Spend Over “$50 Million During The 2010 Campaign” After Spending $67 Million In 2008. “The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to spend in excess of $50 million during the 2010 campaign, part of which will fund ‘a massive incumbent protection program,’ according to Gerry McEntee, president of the union. AFSCME spent roughly $67 million on its political activities in 2008. But the $50 million slated for the 2010 elections is the largest expenditure the union will make in a midterm election, according to union officials. The money will go to help defend the union’s top tier of eight Senate seats and 34 House members.” (Kevin Bogardus and Sean J. Miller, “Unions To Spend $100M In 2010 Campaign To Save Dem Majorities,” The Hill, 5/21/10)

SO OBAMA FILLED HIS TEAM WITH UNION-FRIENDLY OFFICIALS

“Biden Also Suggested That As Long As The Obama Administration Has Labor's Support, The Administration Will Support Labor.” (Michael O’Brien, “Biden To Labor Group: We Owe You,” The Hill, 5/12/09)

Obama Appointed SEIU President Andrew Stern To His Deficit-Reduction Commission. “President Obama has named four members to his bipartisan deficit-reduction commission, including Andy Stern, the influential president of the Service Employees International Union. … Stern has become an influential figure under the new administration after endorsing Obama in the Democratic primary … Stern has been a fixture of White House summit meetings--perhaps most prominently, he was included in the health care industry meetings at the White House last year.” (Chris Good, “Obama Names SEIU's Stern To Deficit Commission,” The Atlantic, 2/26/10)

• In 2009, Stern Was The Number Once Visitor To The White House According To Visitor Access Records. “One thing is clear: service employees international union president Andrew Stern holds sway at the White House, where he’s listed for 22 visits—the top number on the logs.” (Susan Davis, “SEIU’s Stern Tops White House Visitor List,” The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire Blog, 10/30/09)
  
  
• And Stern Has Visited The White House A Total Of 46 Times Since Obama Was Elected. (White House Visitor Access Records, www.whitehouse.gov, Accessed 9/3/10)

Obama Appointed Former Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), A “Longtime Union Ally” And Daughter Of A Teamster, As Labor Secretary. “Mr. Obama's labor secretary, longtime union ally and former California Rep. Hilda Solis, is the daughter of a Teamsters shop steward. She recently moved to quash a Bush administration regulation that would have increased scrutiny of union finances to root out corruption.” (S.A. Miller, “Unions Benefit From Obama Decisions,” The Washington Times, 5/5/09)

Obama Used A Recess Appointment To Place Union Boss Lawyer Craig Becker On The National Labor Relations Board, Even Though He Was Rejected By The Senate. “Mr. Becker says he ‘worked with and provided advice’ to SEIU Local 880 in Chicago … one of two SEIU locals currently in the national spotlight for its deep ties with Acorn … Acorn co-founder Wade Rathke praised Mr. Becker by name … ‘For my money, Craig’s signal contribution has been his work in crafting and executing the legal strategies and protections which have allowed the effective organization of informal workers ...” (Editorial, “Acorn’s Ally At The NLRB,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/09; Cloture Motion On Craig Becker, Of Illinois, To Be A Member Of The National Labor Relations Board, Senate Roll Call Vote #22, Rejected 52-33, D 50-2, R 0-33, 2/9/10)

• Union Lawyer Craig Becker’s NLRB Recess Appointment Means That “Much Of What Organized Labor Hopes To Accomplish Via EFCA Will Be Realized Through The Rule-Making Power Of The NLRB.” (Dmitri Iglitzin and Steven Hill, “Obama’s Pro-Union Nominations to Labor Relations Board Stalled,” The Huffington Post, 01/25/10)

RESULTING IN NUMEROUS RULE CHANGES BENEFITING UNIONS

The National Mediation Board Eased Union Rules At Airlines & Railroads. “The National Mediation Board has overhauled a decades-old election rule to make it easier for airline and railway employees to unionize, in a sign that labor is getting a more favorable hearing at the federal agency under the Obama administration… Gaining organizing power is a hot-button issue for labor unions, which have watched their membership rate fall to 12.3% in 2009 from 20.1% in 1983, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” (Mike Esterl And Kris Maher, “Transport Unions Win Ruling,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/11/10)

• But Only After An Obama Appointment Tipped The Balance Of The Board. “The NMB's rule change comes after a White House appointment shifted the balance of the agency's three-person board. Linda Puchala, a former flight attendant union leader, replaced Read Van de Water, a former Northwest Airlines lobbyist, last year.” (Mike Esterl And Kris Maher, “Transport Unions Win Ruling,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/11/10)

As A Result Of Obama’s Financial Regulatory Reform Bill, Unions Have Greater Access To Force Allies Onto Company Boards. “It's called ‘proxy access,’ and it provides a reasonably free ride to the big public pension funds and some other sizable institutions to put up their own nominees to sit on companies' boards of directors. The vote, as expected, was three to two, with the two Republicans dissenting. The recently passed Dodd-Frank financial reform law gives the SEC power to do this, though some opponents still may lodge legal challenges.” (Neal Lipschutz, ‘”Proxy Access’ Era Begins; Welcome To The Unknown,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/25/10)

Companies Will Be Forced To Pay For Unions To Try To Gain A Seat On Their Boards. “So-called ‘proxy access’ would force public companies to print the names of shareholder-nominated board candidates directly onto corporate ballots. . . Under the current system, shareholders must fund the cost of a campaign for their candidates, including printing their own ballots and distributing them to the shareholders. Since the effort is too costly and time-consuming for most shareholders, boards generally remain under tight management control. Under the SEC proposal, companies would pay for the cost.”  (Jessica Holzer, “SEC Set To Approve Proxy Access,” Dow Jones Newswire, 8/24/10)

Obama Signed Executive Order Allowing Agencies To Require That Federal Contractors On Construction Projects Use Unionized Workers. “The revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation implement a February 2009 executive order in which President Obama encouraged agencies to consider requiring PLAs for construction projects worth more than $25 million. The final rule provides agencies with the discretion to decide if using the agreements would reduce costs and result in a more efficient contract… The agreements require project employees to receive union-approved wages and benefits, even if they do not belong to a union.” (Robert Brodsky, “Senator Rips Collective Bargaining Agreements On Federal Construction Projects,” Government Executive, 4/20/10)

• Which Will Hurt Small Businesses By Making It “Harder [For Them] To Win Government Work.” “Smaller businesses will find it harder to win government work.  Even if they put in better bids, many can’t match the benefits offered by big companies, or always meet the government’s plans to impose a new ‘livable wage’ standard for employees of its contract firms.” (Editorial, “Procuring The Union Agenda,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/9/10)
  
  
• It Will Also Raise Construction Costs And Discriminates Against 85 Percent Of Construction Workers “Who Choose Not To Join A Union.” “Building trade groups said pushing contractors to agree to such agreements with unions could drive up the costs of public construction by nearly 20% and discriminate against what they said are more than the 85% of the U.S. construction workforce members who choose not to join a union.” (Melanie Trottman, “Unions Win Public-Contract Row,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/13/10)