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Specter Staff Threatens to Trash Letters in Support of Employee Free Choice |
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Is it common practice for congressional staff to throw away letters from constituents hoping to have their voices heard? That’s what some of Sen. Arlen Specter’s staff threatened to do to thousands of Pennsylvanians who support the freedom to form unions and bargain.
Specter, who once co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act before he flipped on the bill last month, announced he would support a minority filibuster to prevent it from coming to a vote. Despite once saying he was “delighted” to support it, Specter now is advancing falsehoods about the bill, parroting the extremist charge that it would take away the secret ballot process, which it would not.
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In response, thousands of union members, community activists, religious and civil rights leaders and other members of the broad coalition in support of the Employee Free Choice Act have taken action across the state to make their voices heard. In the past two weeks, they have held seven rallies outside of Specter’s offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Harrisburg, Erie, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act have gathered more than 50,000 letters, 35,000 postcards and 12,000 petitions from Pennsylvanians who support the freedom to form unions and bargain.
Specter’s staff grew increasingly aggressive at every event, Pennsylvania union members report. At Specter’s Wilkes-Barre office, where union members and allies delivered thousands of letters and petitions, United Steelworkers (USW) member Tim Waters reports that they were told by a staffer, “as soon as you leave, your letters will go straight in the trash.”
Hello? These are Pennsylvania residents whom the senator represents. This is the way you treat your constituents?
Hundreds of Pennsylvanians took time out this week to make their feelings known to their senator, bringing with them postcards, letters and petitions from tens of thousands of supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act.
They deserve a respectful hearing.
7 Comments
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This is what happens when Labor unconditionally supports Republicrats like Specter and Dianne Feinstein - they sell us out and abandon us after election day. It’s good to see the critique of Specter, but to be fair, an equal amount of criticism needs to be leveled at the supposedly pro-labor California Senator DiFi. She is a good advertisement for why we need a Labor Party.
Specter never intended to support the EFCA in the first place. That Republican party has absolutely no intention of voting for ANY Democratic Bills. Why? Because they think we are socialists.
Just keep a watch to see if any Republican Senator votes for any of Pres. Obama’s bills in the future.
Specter (and apparently his staff) thinks he “owns” his Senate seat from Pennsylvania. He doesn’t, the citizens of Pennsylvania do — and they should prove it by pulling the chair from under him if he tries to run again.
Would someone please explain why we (an apparent majority of voters) keep sending Senators and Representative back to DC over and over and over? Even George Washington told us that 2 terms is enough.
I agree. Two terms (maybe three) is enough, especially when you consider some of the ages of members of Congress. There are many who continue to serve very well for many years, but there are many who can’t seem to realize that their time has come to an end, because they no longer understand their constituents and are no longer able to address their needs. Since they won’t stand down on their own, maybe we have to force them to quit!
Specter obviously should fire this staffer!
If Specter does not change his position and support the Employee Free Choice Act, the voters of Pennsylvania should fire Specter!
Specter doesn’t know what side of the fence he is on. He’s only one of three moderate Senate Republicans, but he does not want to give up his Republican standing, so, being a moderate which would enable him to actually seek bipartisan support and actually understand what the Democrats stand for, will cause him to lose his Senate seat to a more conservative candidate, so Specter changes his tune. It’s not surprising, but what this does is make Specter look like a fool AND a hypocrite AND a has been. He will not get re-elected. It is my hope that he gets replaced by a more liberal minded Democrat. The conservative line of thought just doesn’t work for America anymore. It’s time for a bold new direction. We are, thankfully, seeing the light.
The people of Pennsylvania should get a drive going to force a election. One in which they can elect some one who well pass the employee free choice act now. And level the plying feild. Get ride of Specter now.