Bennie Thompson Signs On To EFCA

Two years ago, Bennie Thompson was the only member of Mississippi’s delegation to support the Employee Free Choice Act, and right now he is the only member to co-sponsor the labor legislation that was introduced yesterday.

Thompson is one of 222 House members to support Big Labor’s top priority. This bill, if passed in this form, would radically alter the National Labor Relations Act to unionize a shop when organizers are able to get 50 percent plus one to sign union cards.

In the current system, organizers can request a secret ballot when they get 30 percent to sign the cards (although they usually wait until they have 60 percent or more). During the campaign, employees are able to hear the unions’ point of view, as well as managements’ point of view. The potential bargaining unit then has a secret ballot election and if 50 percent plus one of members support the union, they are officially in.

Unions want to do away with that middle step to make their job easier, and increase membership rolls. Big Labor is, of course, the Democrats most loyal constituency. And more union dues mean more money for Democrat causes and campaigns. And more Democrats mean more unions (it’s a continuous cycle).

Interestingly, if employees want to decertify the union, they must still follow the old process under this bill which is via a secret ballot election rather than card check.

Another equally disastrous part of this bill is the forced arbitration. Under the current system, the union and management must bargain in good faith but nothing is guaranteed. If this bill passes, a mediator will get involved after 90 days and 30 days after, if the two sides still don’t have a deal reached, the federal mediation service can force a contract on both sides regardless of the potential damage of the contract. And that contract will last a minimum of two years.

Who will be these mediators? No one really knows. Considering the current president’s connection with labor unions, I am assuming they will blindly support the unions. And if the unions who are bargaining know they will get what they want from the mediator, what reason is there for the unions to negotiate in good faith?

Democrats and Labor call this bill the Employee Free Choice Act. Opponents call it the Employee Forced Choice Act. I like to call it the Let’s Turn America into Michigan Act.

Check below the fold to get more information on Mississippi’s delegation and where they stand on EFCA.

Bennie Thompson is a shill to Big Labor and just about every liberal cause, so his support isn’t surprising. This is ironic because Nissan, which employs a large amount of people from Thompson’s district, would never have thought about locating here if there was a strong union presence in the area. One of the top qualities in attracting new business to the Second District is the lack of union presence. In the interest of new business, Thompson should oppose this and keep labor in the Rust Belt, and out of the South.

Travis Childers did not sign on to this legislation, but may end up supporting it when it comes to a vote. After all, he was endorsed by the AFL-CIO, and gladly accepted their campaign contributions in 2008. He was not in the House for the first vote in 2007, but I will be sure to update his support or opposition to the bill.

Gene Taylor was one of two Democrats to oppose this in 2007, and I don’t think much has changed since then. Gregg Harper also wasn’t around in 2007, but will oppose it when it comes to the floor. Harper has co-sponsored a bill to counter EFCA, the Secret Ballot Protection Act. Of course, spending much time on the House vote is a bit of a waste of time as Nancy Pelosi easily has the numbers to pass this.

The real question mark is in the Senate. I don’t think anyone knows for sure if they have the 60 votes as there are a lot of moderate Democrats on the fence. This includes a few neighboring state Democrats- Pryor and Lincoln of Arkansas and Landrieu of Louisiana. They all supported the legislation in 2007 when it had no chance to pass and was still under the radar. This time around, chance of passage is real and the pressure has been stepped up from both sides. Fortunately, both Mississippi Senators will oppose this bill.