The members of Harkin’s caucus understand the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act benefits Big Labor, while it hurts workers and small businesses. During a lame duck, these newly, in-cycle candidates would most likely show very little enthusiasm in support of job-killing legislation, just as many of their colleagues up for election and re-election this cycle have done.
And the reality is that the 111th Congress and Obama Administration have already been a boon to Big Labor. In February, Congress passed a health care plan only after exempting labor unions from many of its provisions.
Then in March, President Obama appointed former labor lawyer and radical Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Becker was promptly mired in controversy for failing to recuse himself in the face of an obvious conflict of interest in a case involving one of his former employers, the SEIU.
Make no mistake, Becker’s appointment was controversial due to the fact his nomination was unable to receive sufficient bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate resulting in a recess appointment.
There are literally dozens of examples of special treatment for national labor unions at the hands of those in power and at the expense of the American people. But Becker’s appointment is illustrative of the lengths those in Washington will go to in an effort to “payback” their friends in Big Labor.
That means, the business community must remain vigilant and cannot take anything for granted. We must hold our elected officials responsible for their words and deeds ensuring they understand that supporting the forced unionization of America’s small businesses would be the equivalent of a death sentence to their political careers.
But the stakes couldn’t be higher for small businesses across the country as the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act would force them to lay off workers and shut their doors. Taking away the secret ballot and allowing the government to mandate contracts on employees and employers alike without their consent doesn’t make sense in a good economy and in a bad one, the threat alone increases uncertainty, which results in less jobs and economic development.
Congress has the opportunity to do what they know is right, permanently table the job-killing EFCA legislation. Any attempts to bring it up leading into the midterm elections or shortly thereafter in a lame duck session of Congress would only expose more candidates to the fate met by others who have decided to stand with union bosses over their constituents, certain failure.