A Couple of Items on the Labor Front

First, Fritz Fitz, a longtime reader of this blog and sometime commenter, sent along word this morning that the United Students Against Sweatshops will be holding at teaching-in on the Employee Free Choice Act this upcoming Thursday, October 15, at 7pm in 160 Willard on the Penn State University Park campus. Speakers will include a representative of the AFL-CIO and  Paul Whitehead  a Penn State Labor Law professor.

Also, there was news today about the AAUP pushing back against complaints lodged by the right wing Landmark Legal Foundation against  academic labor centers around the country which conduct research about and offer programs for unions .

Technorati Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, Penn State, USAS, AAUP, Landmark Legal Foundation

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Dog Bites Man/Republican Opposes EFCA

I'm sure this will surprise no one, but our congresscritter GT opposes the Employee Free Choice Act.

Thompson spoke out against the Employee Free Choice Act, which he claims removes the secret ballot process in considering whether to unionize a workplace.

"It's a job-killing measure," he said.

Thompson also criticized the measure for its binding-arbitration inclusion, which he said gives an outside party the ability to dictate contract terms.

Proponents of the measure claim it only raises the option of a secret ballot process, but more importantly, that it addresses good will negotiations through binding arbitration and increases sanctions on unfair labor practices.

I also wanted to commend the Sun Gazette, the paper that reported this, for at least stating the proponents position.

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), Employee Free Choice Act

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Your EFCA Update

Brian Buetler reports on the latest in the fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chief sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, has a warning for Democratic foes of his flagship legislation: Work with me in earnest on a compromise, or I'll put the bill on the Senate floor and you can vote your conscience.

That may not sound like a grave threat, but it may well be. Two of the bills main skeptics--Sens. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--face re-election next year, and both, for different reasons, may ultimately need union support to prevail.

Technorati Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), Sen Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

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EFCA: Feinstein and Specter Work on a Compromise

It looks like Snarlin' Arlen's own employment future has lead him to reconsider his recent opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. He and Senator Diane Feinstein are working on a compromise bill which would  replace card check with a secret absentee-ballot-like provision. On first blush, it sounds promising.

Technorati Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, Senator Arlen Spector, Senator Diane Feinstein

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EFCA: In Order To Form a More Perfect... Ah, Any Union

This video does a great job of explaining what it takes to form a union under the current law and the ways in which the  law is now  stacked against workers.

(h/T Matt Yglesais)

Technorati Tags: Employee Free Choice Act

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Old Main: Lying or Breaking the Law?

The Collegian reported this week that Old Main now claims that it didn't lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act last year, although its fourth quarter 2008 federal lobbying disclosure form clearly states that it did.  Which is true?  Well, it is against the law to file an incorrect form.

Whoever knowingly fails: (1) to correct a defective filing within 60 days after notice of such a defect by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House; or (2) to comply with any other provision of the Act, may be subject to a civil fine of not more than $200,000. Whoever knowingly and corruptly fails to comply with any provision of this Act shall be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.

Hence the option are that Old Main is lying now or it broke the law when it filed its lobbying report. My money, as you know from my previous post, is that Old Main is lying now. If they aren't they better revise the form tout de suite.

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Context Comes a Few Weeks Late

The Collegian finally got around to reporting the Old Main's lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act today. The reporter, Ryan Pfister, does a pretty good job explaining what the University did.

...[A]ccording to a lobbying report filed by Penn State that covers activities from October to December of 2008, Penn State lobbied against the EFCA in the U.S. House of Representatives. The university "urged members to oppose this measure as it would change the current union election system by leaving workers unprotected from outside influences," according to the report.

The report lists four Penn State employees who "acted as a lobbyist in this issue area": Sheilah Borne, Zachery Moore, Richard DiEugenio and Margaret Sheely.

There's no ambiguity there. Old Main opposed the bill last year. Pfister gets a comment from  university Bullshitter, Geoff Rushton, who said

...the university is not taking an official position on the EFCA and said no money had been spent on lobbying about the issue. He said a lobbyist, whom he would not identify, did make an "inquiry" about a congressman's position on the EFCA, but did not attempt to influence the congressman's position.

"There was no urging on Penn State's part to take a position either way on the bill," he said.

I wonder how much you have to pay someone like Rushton to lie like that in the face of facts? Geoff don't you feel dirty? Or does the money make it all better for you?

The take away its that Old Main got caught union busting  red handed and now they are lying about it. Great example you're setting there Graham.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Employee Free Choice Act, Union busting, bullshitting

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The Collegian is Slipping

That's the headline on a letter to the Collegian from a Brian Cox which contains the following paragraphs

You have heard a lot of outright lies and misconception about the proposed new law (EFCA). It will not rob the employees of the right to vote for representation.

Even the Wall Street Journal finally spoke the truth about this. It will change dramatically who can and cannot ask for that right.

Currently employees and the employer can ask for and receive a secret ballot election. The EFCA will remove the right for an employer to demand that a secret ballot election be held. That is what big and small business is screaming about.

The whole point of the letter is that EFCA won't eliminate secret ballots. How did the headline writer miss that?

Technorati Tags: The Daily Collegian, Employee Free Choice Act

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The Missing Context for the pro-EFCA Rally at Old Main

Friday's rally at Old Main in support of the Employee Free Choice Act was a great success.  The Collegian reports that,

[m]ore than 120 Penn State student activists, professors, union representatives and community members congregated Friday at Old Main to urge Penn State President Graham Spanier and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

Unfortunately, the Centre Daily Times has, so far, ignored the rally.

While I'm on the topic of media failures, neither the Collegian nor the CDT have reported on the fact that Old Main lobbied against EFCA when it was considered by the last congress. This  important piece of context for the rally  should have been mentioned in the Collegian article.

The only place that you will have read about Old Main's opposition to EFCA is at Left of Centre. Why has the local media ignored the anti-labor activities of Graham?

Technorati Tags: The Daily Collegian, Centre Daily Times, Employee Free Choice Act, Penn State, Spanier,

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USAS for the EFCA

Penn State United Students Against Sweatshops is hosting a rally in support of the Employee Free Choice Act on Friday March 27, 2009 at 4pm in front of Old Main. This is from their [new and improved] Facebook page,

We will have labor leaders from the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Steelworkers, and both state-wide and national EFCA organizers speaking at this rally!! It is going to be huge!

The Employee Free Choice Act will help restore America's middle class and the economy by ensuring working that they have the option of forming a union. The current labor law is broken and is in need of an extraordinary remedy: EFCA

The areas covered by EFCA are:
~ Fining employers who illegally harass or firing union-supporting workers.
~ Provide mediation/arbitration for contract negotiations
~ Provide workers with the CHOICE of how they form their union: via card check or secret ballot elections. In quoting President Leo ___ of the Steelworkers "Of the 70 industrialized nations in the world we are the only one that gives that choice to employers."

It's time to make the law work for us! It is time to make the economy work for us! It is time for the Employee Free Choice Act!

As you know, Graham doesn't support this bill. Go tell him what you think.

Technorati Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, Penn State, Old Main, rally, Spanier

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The Importance of EFCA

I've noted that Graham has spent University funds to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). I recommend this  statement signed by a diverse group of economists in support of the EFCA to those of you  who wonder why  EFCA is important.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Employee Free Choice Act

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Penn State, Inc.

Davis at Onward State attended a meeting over the Kleer-Cut Campaign between members of Eco-Action, a longtime Penn State student environmental group, and Paul Ruskin of the Penn State Office of Physical Plant. He contrasted the stonewalling and, more recently disingenuous gestures, that United Students Against Sweatshops has faced from Old Main over the Designated Supplier Program with the openness of OPP toward Kleer-Cut.

We were expecting a frustrating meeting of passion on one side and corporate doublespeak on the other. Instead, what we saw was a genuine collaboration between two groups with slightly different missions, but similar ideals. We won’t get into specifics here– the conversation got pretty wonky, including one nice discussion about how best to test the different toilet paper options– but it was cool to see. Paul Ruskin, the Communications Coordinator for OPP, even brought tea for the group.

What is to be made of the difference in the response of the University to these two groups? Not much, both responses are consistent with the current dominant corporate culture.

When it comes to labor issues such as sweatshops or unions, Penn State  stands with  Wal-Mart and the US Chamber of Commerce.

When it comes to Going Green   , Penn State stands with Wal-Mart, which

... has reduced annual shipping container use by 500 units, preventing the consumption of 1,000 barrels of oil and 3,800 trees while netting $2.4 million in cost savings,

and the US Chamber of Commerce, whose Web site  is chock-full of positive stories about Going Green.

Penn State  is  to be commended for  its commitment to Going Green, as are Wal-Mart and the US Chamber of Commerce, but  this commitement should not be mistaken as an indication that the University is somehow becoming less corporate. In fact, it is an indication of just how corporate Penn State is.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Going Green, corporate university, anti-labor,

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The Employee Free Choice Act

Since its inception in 1855, Penn State has been committed to making a high quality college education available to the sons and daughters of the working class of this state,...Graham Spanier, June 15, 1997

Today, Graham stands with corporate America against those workers whose children the University is charged with educating.

(h/t Jane Hamsher at FDL for the video.)

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Graham Spanier: Union Buster

According to Penn State's fourth quarter 2008 Federal Lobbying report, the University lobbied against the Employee Free Choice Act. (Penn State spent $520,000 on Federal lobbying last year, up from $100,000 the year before.) Here's a screen shot.

Is it any wonder that Graham won't sign on to the Designated Supplier Program or take any action against Russell Athletics's union busting in Honduras when he is opposed worker's rights here at home?

No, he'd rather go on a national propaganda offensive with his support of Above and Beyond by Knights Apparel. You know... Harvey. No one in Old Main could find the time to talk to the local media about this program, but Damon Sims talked to Inside Higher Education about it. The Worker Rights Consortium refused to be interview and Knights Apparel didn't respond to IHE's request. It looks like they may be distancing themselves from the Old Main Propaganda Shop. (But someone, most likely someone in Old Main, leaked an email from Scott Nova of WRC to an unnamed university to IHE.) This IHE piece makes it perfectly clear that Graham's embrace of Above and Beyond is about shaping national opinion and not about doing any good for anyone other than himself.

Graham will do nothing to help these sweatshop workers, because he is anti-union and anti-worker.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, union busting, EFCA, DSP, WRC, Above and Beyond by Knights Apparel

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