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A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Corporate Campaign Against Workers’ Rights
To get a feel for the scale and viciousness of the campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act—and see how powerful interests are using the same tactics to try and defeat it as they are health care reform and other working family issues—take a look at the Harper’s Magazine article, “Labor’s Last Stand.” Author Ken Silverstein untangles the web of misleadingly named corporate front groups, like the “Center for a Democratic Workplace,” and the network of CEOs, political operatives and right-wing public relations firms who carry out the disinformation campaign against Employee Free Choice:
In terms of personnel, the fighters in the anti-EFCA crusade are approximately two dozen lobbyists and consultants, most of them Republicans, some of whom are married to each other, many of whom have shared the same jobs in government and at the trade associations….
The amount of money being spent by this coalition is anyone’s guess. Public records show that during the last quarter of 2008, there were at least 126 registered lobbyists working against EFCA on behalf of companies and trade groups. And countless more nonprofit groups, which aren’t required to register, are also lobbying against the bill….In addition to all this money for Washington lobbying and consulting, prodigious sums are also being spent on advertising and other, more shadowy activities.
The attempt to defeat the freedom to form unions typifies how opponents of progressive change are operating: through front groups and with high-priced TV disinformation ads paid for with corporate cash and aimed at pundits and politicians as well as the general public.
While Congress goes on recess, the anti-Employee Free Choice Act campaign is spreading falsehoods and scare tactics across the country, including op-eds from front group consultants and TV ads in Indiana, Missouri and Virginia (and paying Bush’s one-time top political hack, Karl Rove, thousands in consulting fees).
You can read all of Silverstein’s essential article—a close look at the corporate playbook on fighting Employee Free Choice—here.
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5 Comments
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It’s time to put the likes of Karl Rove (Bush’s Brain,) in the history books of the unexplained. It is now known that Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush thought they were playing their part in some sort of modern day Christian Crusade with Xe corporation and Eric Prince as their right hand man mercenary, to eliminate all the Muslims from the face of the earth; no need to even mention Mr Karl’s name…oops. Opposition to the Free Employees Free Choice Act similarly, is based on such false pretense, that we too, should falter back to the good old days of the middle ages simply because we were told that in doing such, we’d ultimately be in some ethereal state of patriotic utopia without a penny in our pocket. If you recall, I don’t think any of those sorts had any sort of respect for any worker; it’s time to either put these sociopaths in padded cell, jail, or otherwise not allow the public be exposed to more of their misdeeds.
Trials, jail or execution for traitors. This nonsense must stop – from Wall Street to the Pentagon and from the boardroom to the schoolroom.
I think demonizing your opponents is not helpful.
We oppose EFCA on our own without even knowing these people you describe because our members believe it is bad for their companies, bad for the economy, and will encourage companies to move more jobs overseas (have we learned nothing from General Motors?).
We are not right wing – our straw poll in October of our executives had 60% in support of Obama over McCain.
Technology companies are struggling in an intensely competitive world market. Our nation is doing well fostering these companies because we are an innovative country with smart extremely hard working people. The employees for these companies typically own the company stock and share in the benefits and are paid well.
We oppose EFCA as we are concerned about the impact of a secret unionization petition drive in fast moving entrepreneurial companies which are fueling our economy. Tell me how any of the Internet companies could have started and grown quickly with a union.
So recognize that EFCA opposition is broad and deep. EFCA is dead as Members of Congress don’t want to hurt job creation in America.
What the hell do we care what Gary Shapiro and his gang of capitalist think. They always want more that is the nature of capitalism. What we need to do is hold a good old fashioned organizational strike and win recognition in the old fashion way – by FIGHTING for it. Waiting on “friends of labor” Democrats (the party of the Confederacy) to give you a crumb off the bosses table is a strategy of defeat.
The Employee Free Choice will pass because big business will allow it to pass. The $25,000/offense penalty will not deter them. However, medium sized companies will fold under multiple fines. Union busting firms inculcate fear which becomes small company’s ethos. Franchise management will slip up and break the law and most possibly go bankrupt.
Multinationals will sell out smaller enterprises. And, the Employee Free Choice will pass into law.