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Republican Senators Say They Will Hold Up Solis Nomination |
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With unemployment at the highest level in decades, Senate Republicans are saying they will hold a vote on the nomination of a key Cabinet member in the fight to restore jobs in this ailing economy. Some conservative lawmakers are vowing to hold up a vote on Rep. Hilda Solis’ (D-Calif.) confirmation as labor secretary because of their opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act, which she supports.
Solis, who comes from a union family, has been a champion of workers for more than 15 years combined in Congress and the California legislature, where she was the first Latina elected to the state Senate.
Solis backers have created two Facebook groups in support of her nomination: ”Americans for Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor,” and “1,000,000 Strong For Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor“—and each has some 300 members who signed up in the past few days. The groups give information on how to contact your senators to urge that Solis be confirmed. Sign up for both is open to any Facebook member.
Solis has a solid record on workers’ issues, says Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. Solis, who was raised in a union family, is
a serious, thoughtful, dedicated and result-oriented leader on working family issues.
In her four terms in Congress, Solis co-authored the Green Jobs Act, which later became part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The Green Jobs Act authorized $125 million for workforce training programs targeted to veterans, displaced workers, at-risk youth and individuals in families under 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
Before coming to Washington in 2001, Solis served as chairwoman of the California state Senate labor committee. In a letter to union leaders across the country, Pulaski outlines her accomplishments in the legislature:
- She advanced legislation to protect the most exploited of workers, including farm workers, garment workers and janitors.
- She strengthened penalties against child-labor law violators.
- She led the efforts to improve minimum wage, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and state disability insurance.
- She established the first study on the viability of a state-paid family leave program, which paved the way for California to become the first state in the union to adopt such a program.
- During the huge campaign by corporate interests and anti-worker politicians to silence workers’ voice through the paycheck-deception Prop. 226, Solis contributed $100,000 to help in its defeat and Pulaski says “she led the way and surpassed any other elected official in support of labor’s battle.”
Pulaski adds:
For her experience and ability, she has the strongest possible support from the union movement in California for her confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Labor.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney also praised Solis’ nomination, saying:
We’re confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions—to defend workers’ basic rights in our nation’s workplaces.
She’s proven to be a passionate leader and advocate for all working families. In fact, she’s voted with working men and women 97 percent of the time.
During her confirmation hearings, Solis cited her union family upbringing and said her vision of the Labor Department is “rooted in who I am”:
My father was a Teamsters shop steward who regularly told us about the opportunities his union association would bring to help secure our family a place in America’s middle class.
She pointed to four areas the Labor Department will address under her leadership: improving skills development and job creation programs, including development of “green-collar” jobs; assuring that workers get the pay they have earned working in safe, healthy and fair workplaces; addressing the retirement security crisis; and protecting every worker from job discrimination, regardless of race, sex, veteran status or disability.
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Is it BECAUSE she is so worker-oriented? Haven’t any one of these jack*sses read the mission statement of the Dept. of Labor?
If nothing else, I’m taking off my gloves when it comes to these posers.
Please post a list of those Senators so those of us who are constituents may write them.
Are there enough Republican votes to make their disapproval mean anything?
..I hope not.
Anyone who does not believe in workers’ rights, no matter who they are or their position, sound very UNAMERICAN to me. In addition I feel they lack ethics and empathy. Do the words self interest and greed sound accurate ?
By blocking Ms. Solis’ appointment, these guys are living in the past. Didn’t they get the message in November. Hey guys, wake-up it’s 2009. Your ideas are out-of-date and out-of-step.
As a Boilermaker Local President (now retired) my colleagues and I have fought long and hard to slow down or stop the devastation of the last 8 years. Now there is a much better chance to help all our brothers and sisters throughout America get a better shake in the workforce. Now is not the time to be shy. PRINT the names of the the republicans who would deny Rep Hilda Solis an opportunity to be our next Sec. of Labor. These anti workers need to be targeted when they come up for re-election.
Do you know how to tell if a republican is lying? His/her mouth is open.
I agree with you wholeheartedly! The Republicans have had 8 years to ruin this nation. and a darned good job they did at that end!
I read an article on 1/27 titled “The Era of Not Getting It: The Marie Antoinettes of the Meltdown” (1/27/2009,Ariana Huffington, Huffington Post) talking about financial executives continuing as if nothing has happened. I believe she should have included the Republicans representatives that were doing their bidding…
It would be advantageous to the Labor Movement to have the State Feds contact the people they have on their E Mail lists.It has helped in the past in votes in the congress and she is finally a person that understands about workers
[...] 1/28/09 from the AFL-CIO Now blog: Rep. Hilda [...]
The repubs just don’t get it! The American people put up with their lies, greed, corruption and war mongering for eight years! It’s our turn now!
Sister Solis deserves the support of all working people whether they belong to a union or not!
I second Makaha’s and BillWm’s suggestion to post the names of the Republicans who will try and stonewall the EFCA. Add their emails and phone numbers so we can remind them that they were elected to represent the American majority and not the anti-union faction minority. 50,000 or so messages should help even the stupidest senator to remember what he/she should be doing…
the republicans continue to isolate themselves as the party that is anti-woman, anti-Hispanic, anti-worker, and anti-environment. the plutocrats are obviously terrified of the first labor secretary to come from a working class, union background. obama needs to play hardball on this one.
so what do we have to do to get Ms. Solis confirmed? Replies are welcomed
Republican Senators Say They Will Hold Up Solis Nomination
Congresswoman Hilda Solis’ confirmation delayed by least one unidentified Republican senator is using a parliamentary procedure to holdup Solis’ confirmation, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, alleged from the Senate floor Thursday.
The anonymous hold — as the informal delay tactic is known — essentially prevents the full Senate from voting on Solis’ confirmation by threatening a filibuster. It could be lifted at any time.
The hold was placed on the nomination because of Solis’ support for legislation aimed at facilitating union organization and regarding pay-discrimination, and for non-responsive answers during her confirmation hearing, the Washington, DC-based Congress Daily reported Friday.
Technically, Solis’ nomination isn’t being “held” — that occurs when a nominee has won committee approval and a senator tries to delay a full vote. Solis has not received a vote yet in the Senate labor committee, chaired by Ted Kennedy (D-MA), but GOPers are slowing down her confirmation over the so-called “card check” bill, a major priority of the labor movement that would allow workers to organize more easily.
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is legislation in the United States which aims to “amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an easier system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.
The war has officially begun over the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act” stated Steve Maritas, Organizing Director for the International Union, Security Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). http://www.SPFPA.ORG
“The blocking by the Republicans of Congresswoman Hilda Solis’ appointment as Labor Secretary is nothing more than a Union Busting Tactic against the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act” stated maritas.
Martin Jay Levitt, said it best when he said:
Martin Jay Levitt, 1993, Confessions of a Union Buster
For More Information on EFCA please visit our website and blog
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
efcanow.blogspot.com/
http://www.FreeChoiceActNow.Org
http://www.LaborUnionResources.Org
There would have to be at least 10 moderate Republicans in the Senate. They’re the ones that need to be targeted and heavily cultivated to support confirmation of Ms. Solis, as well, the Free Choice Act.
both parties use this scare tactic.
Conservative opposition to Rep. Solis simply reconfirms their
ceaseless class warfare against working people.
Art Pulaski and John Sweeny are have been great soldiers for Labor. I have had the honor to have met both of them. However, though Hilda Solis may talk the talk and even, on ocassion, walk the walk, I wonder. I would have been far happier to have a Secretary of Labor who has actual been a MEMBER OF A UNION. You’d think after all the money the Labor Movement, not to mention the tens of thousands of hours our members devoted to this and many past elections we could get an actual real member of union as Secretary of Labor! Now, there is change, not just an illusion!
This new administration seems be more of same only, perhaps differing on in their fraternal or sorority affliations, or perphaps their favorite cocktails. If this is what will pass for change, give me Revolution!
Same old selfish, self righteous Republicans. Something is seriously wrong with these people.
You’re right. These Republicans are no patriots. Who in their right mind would borrow trillions of dollars to give tax cuts to the rich and shell out all sorts of no-bid, no-perform contracts to the likes of Halliburton if they really cared about America?
Ronald Reagan told us long ago that government is the problem. The GOP hates government (except for the military) because it is a check on corporate power.
Republicans? Aren’t they the party that screamed, “Let the nomination come to a vote!!!” everytime the democrats held up one of President Bush’s nominations? Hypocrisy is now spelled, “G.O.P.”
Workers are getting out of hand. Today, they’re demanding that people actually get to choose whether they want to join unions. Before you know it, they’ll be challenging employers’ God-given right to repeatedly injure and kill their workers on the job. They must be stopped!!! Communism!!! Anarchy!!! Arggggh!!! My arteries are bursting!!!
I knew electing this Muslim terrorist was a mistake. To think we could’ve had Sarah Palin running the country.