While the Obama administration and its Democratic allies in Congress press to allow private-sector workers to unionize by signing authorization cards instead of voting by secret ballot, the government's legal-aid program for the poor has declared the so-called "card check" strategy "unreliable" and rejected an effort by some of its own workers to organize that way.
The Legal Services Corp., a congressionally chartered, taxpayer-funded entity, even hired a law firm to rebuff the efforts of workers in its oversight offices to gain union representation by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), forcing the workers to conduct a vote by secret ballot later this week.
The LSC's decision has prompted concerns on Capitol Hill that the government may be trying to impose a solution on private businesses that its own agencies and panels are reluctant to follow.
Calling himself a longtime supporter of the LSC and its mission, Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, in a letter last week obtained by The Washington Times, said it was "troubling to learn that LSC is now using hard-fought-for taxpayer funds to retain a law firm and engage in a campaign to potentially frustrate employees' desire to exercise their right to join a union."
Katie Packer, executive director of the Workforce Fairness Institute, which opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, said this amounted to a double standard.
"It's the height of hypocrisy to say that when [the government's] interests are at stake it's not an accurate way to hold an election, but when it's a [private] company, it is," she said.
However, she said LSC made the right decision. "We totally agree with them: This is not an accurate way to judge support," she said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/09/public-service-agency-rejects-card-check//print/
LOL
This is the same group that spend money on parties, tax dollars were used by LSC to give interest-free loans, without any contracts, to employees for computers and for down payments on personal residences.
Obama is a big supporter, gave them a 11 percent increase in his 2010 budget request and asked Congress to eliminate several restrictions governing how LSC can use its money.
The Legal Services Corp., a congressionally chartered, taxpayer-funded entity, even hired a law firm to rebuff the efforts of workers in its oversight offices to gain union representation by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), forcing the workers to conduct a vote by secret ballot later this week.
The LSC's decision has prompted concerns on Capitol Hill that the government may be trying to impose a solution on private businesses that its own agencies and panels are reluctant to follow.
Calling himself a longtime supporter of the LSC and its mission, Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, in a letter last week obtained by The Washington Times, said it was "troubling to learn that LSC is now using hard-fought-for taxpayer funds to retain a law firm and engage in a campaign to potentially frustrate employees' desire to exercise their right to join a union."
Katie Packer, executive director of the Workforce Fairness Institute, which opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, said this amounted to a double standard.
"It's the height of hypocrisy to say that when [the government's] interests are at stake it's not an accurate way to hold an election, but when it's a [private] company, it is," she said.
However, she said LSC made the right decision. "We totally agree with them: This is not an accurate way to judge support," she said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/09/public-service-agency-rejects-card-check//print/
LOL
This is the same group that spend money on parties, tax dollars were used by LSC to give interest-free loans, without any contracts, to employees for computers and for down payments on personal residences.
Obama is a big supporter, gave them a 11 percent increase in his 2010 budget request and asked Congress to eliminate several restrictions governing how LSC can use its money.