Unions Look to Democrats for Action on Their Stalled Agenda

Unions helped elect Barack Obama and dozens of Democratic senators and representatives. Now, they are hoping to get some help.

By Martha Lynn Craver, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

December 1, 2008

Big Labor is gearing up to pursue the most significant changes in federal labor law in years. Union officials hope that with a sympathetic president and large Democratic majorities in the Senate and House, they will get some results on a host of initiatives that were stymied during the Bush Administration. Labor's huge get-out-the-vote efforts were crucial to Democratic wins, especially in key swing states such as Nevada, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Holy Grail of labor's agenda is card-check legislation, which would make it easier for unions to organize. It's a must-have change for leaders of organized labor, who hope to stem a decline in membership. Today, only 12% of workers are members of a union. The bill in question would require employers to recognize a union if a majority of the company's eligible workforce signs cards of support. Current law requires a months-long effort ending in a secret ballot election. Unions say that gives employers time to intimidate workers. Employers say card-check lets unions do the intimidating.

An overlooked provision in the bill has employers equally worried. It would require binding arbitration if a company and a newly recognized union cannot agree on a contract within four months. Employers say this is especially troubling because any imposed wages, benefits, work schedules, etc. would be the jumping off point for subsequent contracts.

Business groups are gearing up for a battle royal to stop the proposal. Passage of card-check is no slam dunk, despite pledges of support from President-elect Obama and Democratic leaders. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and other employer groups have huge war chests dedicated to defeating the bill. Employers will target conservative Democrats who voted for the bill in the past but may not be firmly committed to it. "It was a free vote before, because they knew Bush would veto it," says one business lobbyist.

A compromise is the mostly likely outcome. One possibility would be to expedite elections while preserving the secret ballot, "along with prohibitions against employer actions that inhibit workers," says Gary Chaison, a professor at Clark University. The compromise also could include an extended deadline for first contract arbitration.

Working in businesses' favor: Obama would rather put off a showdown. He has other, more pressing priorities, and he won't want to send any early signals that he's antibusiness or that he's a pushover for labor interests. That will give employers more time to win over the public and wavering senators. Business groups already are getting a lot of traction by a public relations campaign that declares elimination of the secret ballot to be fundamentally undemocratic.

Other issues on labor's agenda will be approved much more quickly: Paid sick leave is likely to pass in 2009. Employers would be required to provide workers with seven days of paid sick leave to care for their own medical needs or those of a family member. Business will probably claim that they can't afford this proposal in these trying economic times. About 40% of workers in the U.S. don't have paid sick leave.

An ergonomics rule to reduce repetitive motion injuries will be issued by OSHA, similar to the one issued during the final days of the Clinton Administration that was overturned by the Republicans in Congress in 2001. At the time, employers said it would cost $100 billion a year to implement.

Pay equity legislation will be passed early on, possibly as part of the economic stimulus bill. Obama promised, and will deliver, early action to reverse a Supreme Court ruling limiting the right to file pay discrimination suits. The bill is named after Lilly Ledbetter whose pay discrimination claim was denied by a 5-4 court decision last May.

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