Is Card Check Making A Comeback?

Writing at BigGovernment.com, Bret Jacobson wonders if we've really seen the last of card check, the controversial proposal to change American labor law by allowing workers to form a union simply by signing cards, rather than by voting via secret ballot:

This weekend the president named a key SEIU lawyer to the quiet but crucial National Labor Relations Board through a controversial recess appointment.

By doing so, the president has gone well outside the norm of history by failing to appoint a Republican and Democrat at the same time. Some worry he is trying to stack the deck to make sure government can — as they have said in their own words — "change the rules governing forming a union through administrative action" even without passing a card check bill.

Read the rest here. Dave Weigel reported on union support for card check in our June 2008 issue.

Comments

[TrickyVic]

Is Obama going to offer subsidies for union dues?

Would not surprise me.

[Maneki Nekko]

If Republicans want to see one of their own on the board, all they need to do is stop filibustering in the Senate and let Obama's nominations get an up or down vote.

[CoyoteBlue]

How do non-oligopoly parties get "one of their own" on?

[Maneki Nekko]

Obama nominated a Republican to the board. It only takes Senate approval to let him take his seat.

[EVL29]

Ah yes,the old package deal. Vote for our 2 candidates and get one of your own in the deal.

[Warty]

There used to be a big sign in a union hall nearby that said, "CARD CHECK = ECONOMIC RECOVERY", or something equivalent. It never failed to piss me off.

[Episiarch]

Why were you in the union hall? Are you Jimmy Hoffa?

[Warty]

I drive by it often, and yes.

[Episiarch]

How do you drive by from your cement cocoon in the Meadowlands?

[Warty]

So, I wonder, did they move his concretey corpse to the new Giants stadium? If they didn't yet, are there plans to?

[Episiarch]

Ask the mob. They're in charge of both the Teamsters and Hoffa's body.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm surprised they don't display it in a case in some Las Vegas casino.

[Wher'e the Money Coming From?]

$600 million in housing aid on the way for 5 more states
Posted: March 29th, 2010 04:03 PM ET

From CNNMoney.com Staff Reporter Hibah Yousuf

New York (CNNMoney.com) - Five more states will receive federal funding to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure, the Obama administration announced Monday.

Last month, President Obama unveiled the Hardest Hit Fund, which pumped $1.5 billion into state housing agencies in California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Michigan. These five were originally identified because they had been hardest hit by the housing bust, with prices declining more than 20%.

Now, an additional $600 million is being doled out to the five states that have the largest number of counties suffering unemployment rates above 12%: North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

"The goal for our second set of awards was to identify states suffering from high shares of populations living in concentrated areas of economic distress," said Alan Krueger, Treasury assistant secretary.

http://politicalticker.blogs.c.....calticker+(Blog:+Political+Ticker)&fbid=BU0NsCYbHCm

[Texas]

You guys suck and can't take care of themselves. Why do I have to subsidize your shitty decisions?

[Vermont Gun Owner]

I'm graduating in May with a job prospect in Vegas. Why doesn't Obama want me to be able to afford a home?

[R C Dean]

One of the scariest things about the Obama administration is their stated intention to pursue major policy changes through unilateral executive action.

The shot across the bow was having the EPA assert authority over CO2 emissions.

Sounds like card check is another.

With Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, there is no possibility of a legislative check on these abuses.

Just sayin'.

[.308 Winchester]

"With Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, there is no possibility of a legislative check on these abuses."

Yes there is.

[Clint Eastwood]

I legislate with a pair of Colt Walkers, personally.

[Pro Libertate]

"Release the Kraken!"

[Warty]

Release the Kraken

[Warty]

OK, now I can't get that out of my head.

[Pro Libertate]

That's okay, I can't get Liam Neeson saying "Release the Kraken" out of my head.

[Warty]

That's what I mean. Curse you.

[Pro Libertate]

Not me. Liam Neeson!

I love him. He can do some serious, decent film, then he can do something campy and "beneath" him. He'll act in anything.

[Groovus Maximus]

Especially this incredible pile of crap!

He must have been hungry as well as dedicated.

[Corduroy Rocks]

Thou shall not demean the wondrous "Krull", lest you be thrown to the Slayers.

[cynical]

"The shot across the bow was having the EPA assert authority over CO2 emissions."

Shouldn't we be blaming SCOTUS and blue states for that? The Obama administration may have done it anyway, but it's a moot point since they were ordered to.

[Episiarch]

Since they were able to ram HCR through, and that had way more opposition than card check, why wouldn't they do it while they can?

[wackyjack]

I don't think every member has a death wish. There's only so much arm twisting that Pelosi can do.

[Episiarch]

That's what I thought about HCR, and look what happened.

[wingnutx]

I thought that would save us from HCR. Boy was I wrong.

[Pro Libertate]

Remember Festival in that Star Trek episode with Landru? Well, that's how the Democrats feel all of the time these days. Festivaaaaal!!!!

[Esoteric]

Holy shit is that an awesomely nerdy reference. Which I got instantly, implicating me as well as you.

[Pro Libertate]

Someone will come along soon to tell us the episode name, which will trump anything you and I are doing in the nation of geekdom.

[Episiarch]

"The Return of the Archons"

[Pro Libertate]

No kidding--I originally typed "Episiarch", then decided I'd been picking on you too much lately and changed it to "Someone." Naturally, I knew it would be you.

And, yes, I knew the title, too, further implicating me. Though, to be honest, that has less to do with my current geekiness and more to do with my former youthful memory. And the fact that with five channels as a youth (the majors, PBS, and the local UHF channel), I tended to watch shows I liked a LOT.

[Episiarch]

I know the names of TOS episodes, because not only do I like TOS best, but they have very cool episode titles. The other series don't. Now, if they had episode titles like "Wesley gets maimed in a transporter accident", that would be a different story.

[dbcooper]

Just for you Epi the AV Club is going to review every TNG episode in order. The first two seasons are going to be rough on that guy ...

[Brian]

Between this and the ACTA news Volokh posted, it's becoming increasingly clear that Obama is determined to do away with the inconvenience of trying to pass laws through congress, opting instead to just establish his own little dictatorship.

Maybe Republicans have gotten ahead of themselves in planning to beat Obama in the 2012 election. First they should find out if there's going to be one.

[bikerider]

Sure there will be one. The question is who will decide what names are on the ballot.

[cynical]

ACTA started under Bush (and people made the same paranoid comments about him, in vain). Why would Obama find Congress inconvenient, when it's controlled by his party and high on MISSION ACCOMPLISHED? The DNC, taken as an entity, might be pushing the country in a radical direction, but that's something that can be laid at the feet of every progressive hardliner.

[Paul]

There'll always be elections. My fear is that we'll move to a purely publicly financed election system and only government-approved candidates will be able to run.

[Gilbert Martin]

"Some worry he is trying to stack the deck to make sure government can ? as they have said in their own words ? "change the rules governing forming a union through administrative action" even without passing a card check bill."

For Obama, there are no rules.

[Barack Obama]

Process is overrated. Results are what matters.

[cynical]

Shorter Barack Obama: The ends justify the means.

[more cynical]

Barack Obama: My ends justify seizing your means.

[ends]

so, before we go any further...

[means]

Um, don't I get a say in this?

[Paul]

This weekend the president named a key SEIU lawyer to the quiet but crucial National Labor Relations Board through a controversial recess appointment.

How close is this to hiring a lobbyist?

[Silentz]

But he promised not to do that!

[cynical]

Lobbyists flack for corrupt entities like corporations, which pursue unearned profit through industry collusion, bribery, and government cronyism.

It's slander to use such a term to describe a representative for a noble institution like a trade union, which merely seeks to use collective bargaining, targeted campaign contributions, and progressive legislative safeguards to ensure fair compensation for the hard-pressed proletariat.