Labor Unions Blast Democratic Senate Leaders For Making An Anti-Union Deal With Senate Republicans

[Better Believe It]

Unions set to blast Democrats
By Greg Sargent
January 31, 2012

Just when Democrats are trying to unite behind a populist message ahead of the 2012 elections, more than a dozen unions are blasting Senate Democratic leaders over a deal with Republicans on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization. In a letter that was made public late Monday, leaders of the Service Employees International Union and AFL-CIO affiliates, such as the Communications Workers of America, say that the deal could compromise their ability to organize; they demand that Democrats withdraw from it and push harder for a “clean” reauthorization.

A few weeks ago Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced a deal, authored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D), that would nix the GOP’s desired union-busting provision; in exchange, the threshold of worker interest required for triggering an election on whether to form a union would be raised from 35 percent to 50. A Senate Democratic aide e-mailed Monday: “This bill is a compromise — by definition, not everyone got everything they wanted. That said, Democrats stood firm to protect American workers, and forced Republicans to back down on the workplace fairness provision that prompted this fight in the first place, leaving that provision intact and unchanged.”

Labor officials have concluded that the raised threshold would make it harder to organize amid mergers of unionized and non-unionized airlines, a key labor target. They also see a terrible precedent in opening the door to rewriting long-standing labor law.

This was a priority issue for union leaders, who hoped Democrats would deliver a result that could help repair relations with dispirited members ahead of November.

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/unions-set-to-blast-democrats/2012/01/30/gIQA0spgeQ_story.html


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NEWS RELEASE
January 30, 2012
"Rewriting decades of labor law without debate or discussion sets a dangerous precedent"

Washington, D.C. — Following is a statement by 19 unions calling for passage of a clean FAA Reauthorization, without drastic and unnecessary changes to the Railway Labor Act:

The unions are UAW; Communications Workers of America; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; American Federation of Government Employees; International Association of Machinists; National Education Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen-IBT; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees-IBT; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; Service Employees Local 32BJ-National Conference of Fireman and Oilers; Sheet Metal Workers; United Steelworkers; Teamsters; American Train Dispatchers Association; Transportation Communications Union-IAM; Amalgamated Transit Union; United Transportation Union; UniteHere.

We remain strongly committed to passage of a clean FAA Reauthorization bill. An aviation safety and security bill is no place to impose unrelated and controversial labor provisions that will ultimately serve to harm both airline and railroad workers. The proposed Railway Labor Act changes would drastically rewrite a statute that was crafted by labor-management cooperation and has not been changed for over 75 years without the agreement of both employer and employee representatives. Airline and rail workers would suffer significant losses as contracts are jettisoned, collective bargaining rights are cut and legal hurdles will be placed in the way of gaining a voice at work.

A rewrite of long standing labor law deserves proper and due consideration through the normal deliberative process. Acting otherwise directly conflicts with the non-partisan recommendations of the 1994 Report of the Dunlop Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations. This is particularly true of this law which was uniquely created through labor and management negotiations. Unilaterally changing that law without labor’s input and without due deliberation threatens to unravel its carefully balanced goals of labor stability and uninterrupted commerce.

Rewarding the House Republican Leadership’s desire to rewrite decades of long standing labor law in a flash by inserting an unrelated and controversial labor provision in a much needed aviation safety and security bill, without notice, hearing, or debate, sets an extremely dangerous precedent. We urge the Senate to delete the provisions of the bill that would amend the RLA and pass the clean FAA Reauthorization that all concerned recognize this country sorely needs and supports.

###

http://www.cwa-union.org/news/entry/transportation_unions_call_on_congress_to_pass_clean_faa_reauthorization

[limpyhobbler]

1. Hell no. This is not right

There should be NO reason for compromising with Republicans on this.

Democrats are in charge in the Senate and of course they are in a majority in every committee.

Senate Dems have control over how bills are marked up and which items will make it out of committee to the floor.

Any anti-organizing provision should have been killed instantly.

That is certainly what the republicans would do if they were running the Senate and they wanted something to disappear.

Is Harry Reid is incompetent as leader, can he be replaced?

[Better Believe It]

2. Senator Rockefeller also played a major role in this bi-partisan anti-labor deal.

[limpyhobbler]

3. It would be better to draw a line in the sand and have a big fight with republicans, rather than

compromise over these kinds of important issues.

If we have to compromise after we tried and fought it out, then so be it.

But why compromise on something so important without a big fight?

[Better Believe It]

4. Lawmakers close in on FAA funding deal amid pushback from unions

Lawmakers close in on FAA funding deal amid pushback from unions
By Keith Laing
January 31, 2012

Lawmakers in the House and Senate came close to finalizing an agreement Tuesday to provide long-term funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as unions voiced opposition to a labor deal that paved the way to the compromise.

A conference committee of lawmakers from the House and Senate spent most of a meeting late Tuesday afternoon praising each other for their hard work in reaching the deal, which makes changes to union election rules for workers covered by the Railway Labor Act.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) also touted the agreement on the FAA bill, which has been rare in the sharply divided 112th Congress.

“This bipartisan, bicameral agreement ensures long-term aviation safety and infrastructure funding for the next four years," Mica said in a statement after the meeting. "I commend my colleagues in the House and Senate for working across party lines to come together on this long overdue measure to make needed reforms at FAA, fund programs for constructing major airport infrastructure improvements, and help create jobs for Americans.”

Under the compromise lawmakers endorsed Tuesday despite the union opposition, the percentage of a company’s workforce that would have to be in favor of a vote on unionization would be increased from 35 to 50 percent, and the National Mediation Board would have to hold public hearings before making future rule changes in lieu of requiring them to be reviewed by judges.

Read the full article at:

http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/aviation/207823-lawmakers-finalizing-faa-agreement-as-unions-push-back-on-labor-deal

[T S Justly]

5. K&R (nt)

[bvar22]

6. The Democratic Party Leadership??? I'm shocked!!!

Look at how much they have done for Organized LABOR over the last 30 years!

One can NOT be FOR "Free Trade",
and Pro-UNION at the same time.
The two positions ARE mutually exclusive.


You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=green][center]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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[Better Believe It]

8. Me too. Who would have expected this from "warriors for the working class"?

It would be nice if President Obama publicly opposed this bi-partisan anti-union deal.

Now that would almost be shocking!

[woo me with science]

7. Here we go again. nt

[MrSlayer]

9. With friends like these.....

I would say this was unbelievable except that it isn't.