With a receptive White House, labor begins to line up battles

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13422697

The New York Times
Updated: 09/25/2009 07:49:23 PM MDT

When world leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the G-20 summit meeting last week in Pittsburgh, they no doubt complained about the punitive tariffs that the Obama administration recently slapped on Chinese tires and steel.

Though the spotlight was focused on the summit, the man responsible for pressuring the administration to act on those disputes was elsewhere, sitting in his office a few hundred yards from where the meeting was staged.

That man was Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, often viewed as the No. 1 scourge of free traders.

And the leaders of the G-20 should take note. Gerard and his fellow labor leaders are just getting started.

Although labor's opposition to free trade is nothing new, having an ear in the White House is. The Obama administration, though it says it supports free trade, has so far seemed more aligned with labor's trade agenda than has any administration in decades.

What has alarmed America's trading partners is the steelworkers' victory when the president imposed a 35 percent tariff on Chinese tires under special trade rules that allow punitive measures without a finding of illegal trade practices.

Under these "safeguard" rules, the White House can impose penalties merely by finding that a surge in Chinese imports hurt a particular industry. It was the first time a president had ordered penalties under the provision, which China agreed to as part of its push to join the World Trade Organization.

FULL story at link.

[bluestateguy]

1. Employee Free Choice Act next year!

One option that we may want to consider would be to pass EFCA during a lame duck session after the 2010 elections.

[NMDemDist2]

2. hmmmm interesting

my hubby's union is under the USW umbrella

:woohoo: