Campaign Notebook 6/7: A Different Kind of Campaign

Campaigns don’t have to be for an individual seeking an office.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been engaged in a campaign supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, a piece of pending legislation that would protect the jobs of workers who seek to organize in their workplace.  In the current climate, many workers face retribution, and even a pink slip if management gets wind of any move to unionize. The EFCA, co-sponsored by Minnesota’s own Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, and more than 230 of his closest colleagues, would shift the balances a bit.  The bill has passed the House, but not the Senate.

Where’s the news then?  With a big hat-tip to Sally Jo at A Bluestem Prairie, The National Federation of Independent Businesses held an “educational event” in Mankato this week to discuss its opposition to the EFCA:

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The NFIB says business owners want a say in the union process, by allowing discussions between a company and its employees to find out what’s best for the business.

Brad Close with NFIB says, “from our perspective, not only could they be shut out of an organizing company and have no say or talk to employees, but also maybe lose ability to set wages and benefits for the business they own and for owners that’s a scary proposition.”

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Russell Hess with the Southeast Central Labor Council says, “the employee doesn’t have a say on whether the employer joins the Chamber of Commerce or the N.F.I.B.. We don’t feel the employer should have a say on how the worker joins a union or not.”

Note to the NFIB:  time to work on your messaging.  Traditionally, unions have fought for a seat at management’s table, a tradition the NFIB apparently seeks to reverse by gaining a chair at the union hall.  SEIU has been at the forefront of recent labor campaigns, most notably in support of the Houston janitors’ organization, and it looks like their success will continue for some time.  This campaign has been a winner for the SEIU so far.

**Update**:  Although the SEIU HAS been at the forefront of these issues in recent history, it was the AFL-CIO backing the protests at the Mankato event.  Sorry about that :).