The union agenda exposed
May 15, 2009 | By Nathaniel Ward
The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, backed by Big Labor, would diminish worker freedom, abolish secret-ballot elections in union organizing drives, and dramatically expand the role of the federal government in the regulation of businesses and workplaces.
» A former union organizer explains what Big Labor agenda really is.
» Read the one-page factsheet and download a printable version.
EFCA grants government the authority to impose contracts on workers and firms, thus eliminating employers' freedom to pursue their business strategies and workers' input regarding their workplace.
Government imposed contracts could bankrupt companies and cost employees their jobs, warns Rian Wathen, the former Collective Bargaining Director for UFCW Local 700 in Indianapolis. And under this system, there's no incentive to compromise: "If I'm a union, why would I settle or agree to anything?"
Heritage experts report that EFCA would establish "government-backed authority to tell business owners how to run their business, including wages and bonuses, employment levels; retirement and healthcare plans; business operations; promotions; assignments; subcontracting; and closure, sale, or merger of a business."
» Learn more about protecting worker freedom.
-Amanda Reinecker
Listen to Heritage's Stuart Butler on the economy
Heritage Foundation vice president Stuart Butler spoke to Heritage members this week during a town-hall teleconference about President Obama's domestic agenda.
» Listen to a recording of the teleconference or download it for offline listening.
Other Heritage work of note
- President Obama's "tax-borrow-and-spend budget" would increase government spending by $7,000 per household, raise taxes by $1.4 trillion and double the national debt, writes Heritage budget policy analyst Brian Riedl. Analyzing eight of the President's "bogus budget arguments," Riedl uncovers what he labels "the most fiscally irresponsible budget in American history."
- "US-Israeli relations are in danger of deteriorating to the lowest point" in half a century, writes Heritage Middle Eastern affairs expert Ariel Cohen. The Obama administration's "Arab Peace Plan" advocates policies that would divide Jerusalem to make it a Palestinian capital, jeopardizing Israeli security. President Obama also favors Israel's joining the ineffective Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty despite rising nuclear threats from neighboring countries. Israel is in grave danger, Cohen argues, "unless Washington stands with its ally in this fight for survival."
- "The Obama administration should make free trade agreements a centerpiece of its stimulus efforts," advises Heritage vice president and former assistant secretary of state Kim Holmes. One-third of American trade internationally is attributed to free trade agreements, yet Congress stalls commercial arrangements with Columbia, South Korea and Panama that would further benefit Americans. Holmes urges the administration to abandon its protectionist tendencies and embrace "no-brainer" policies of free enterprise to stimulate the economy.
- "For far too many leaders, world hunger, human rights violations and sexual trafficking appear to have taken a back seat to the alleged 'climate change' problem," writes Heritage expert Israel Ortega. But government policies to reduce man's carbon footprint may not be so easy or economically beneficial. "Government subsidies for renewable energy create increasingly large debt bubbles," warns Ortega. "And [they] artificially create a new market that will collapse without more government money."
- President Obama has claimed he has "no plans" to use statistical sampling for the 2010 census, notes Heritage distinguished fellow and former congressman Ernest Istook. However, now that a "champion of statistical sampling" is the new Census Director and groups like ACORN are "national partners" to assist in census counting, it appears likely President Obama will approve statistical adjustments to the census to advance his agenda.
In other news
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has admitted she was briefed on the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques. But she also says the spy agency misled her about the extent of these practices.
- The automakers are starting to enact major cuts. GM says it will end its relationship with 1,100 of its 6,000 dealers, while Chrysler has announced plans to close 789 of their 3,000 dealerships.
- Liberals in Congress want the federal government to tax bad habits -- smoking, junk food indulgences, and alcohol consumption -- since such taxes could generate up to $600 billion for lavish big-government spending over 10 years.
- Even the media can't hide the fact that the "stimulus" isn't working as well as the Left suggests. The AP takes Vice President Joe Biden to task for painting an overly optimistic picture of a still gloomy economy.
- King Abdullah II of Jordan pressed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state as a necessary precondition for Israel-Arab peace efforts.
- Washington Post columnist George Will rebukes the Obama administration, which he says is "careless regarding constitutional values and is acquiring a tincture of lawlessness." He argues that the administration's "bold" political allocation of wealth and opportunity amounts to corruption.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Tuesday, May 19 at noon, Heritage hosts a screening of the Pacific Research Institute's new documentary film, Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School.
- On Tuesday, May 19 at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, the Southeast Michigan Committee will host an event with former adviser to President George W. Bush and now political commentator Karl Rove, who will explain how conservatives can pull America back in the direction of her first principles. This marks the innaugural event for the Southeast Michigan Committee. Watch the live webcast at www.myheritage.org.
- On Wednesday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m., Heritage marks the 108th anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain with an event on the country's ongoing political and economic repression.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Amanda Reinecker contributed to this report.
