Senators, Childers voice opposition to 'card check' bill

Mar. 18--Northeast Mississippi's congressional delegation uniformly opposes a bill that would dramatically change how workers decide on union representation.

Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, both Republicans, and 1st District Rep. Travis Childers, a Democrat, all confirmed Tuesday they will

The legislation, filed last week for action this year, would redefine how unions gain status as employees' representatives. It would allow a so-called "card check" provision to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a labor union if a majority of a company's employees sign union authorization cards.

Under current law, the NLRB calls secret-ballot elections after a union is able to show it has the support of at least 30 percent of a group of employees. Then, more than 50 percent of employees must vote in favor of unionization.

Opponents say not having a secret-ballot election deprives all employees of the right to a secret ballot.

A similar bill passed the U.S. House in 2008, but it died in the Senate.

President Obama and large majorities of Democrats in both the House and Senate support the proposed change, but vote-counters say only a handful of Republicans, or fewer, can be expected to support it in both chambers.

Spokesmen for Childers, Wicker and Cochran all confirmed their opposition Tuesday in separate responses to a Daily Journal inquiry.

"I plan to vote against the current card check bill," Childers said in a statement.

"In these uncertain times, I'm very concerned that a wide range of small business leaders believe this will hurt job creation and economic development efforts in our region. There may be parts of the country where this measure will not have the same impact it will have here in north Mississippi, but my job is to put the 1st Congressional District first."

Robert Shaffer, president of the Mississippi AFL-CIO, said in a telephone interview, "He (Childers) told me a lot of the people in his district were opposed to it."

Shaffer said the Mississippi AFL-CIO supported Childers in the 2008 general election. "How he votes (on card check) won't make any difference," said Shaffer, who called Childers "a good fellow."

In reiterating an earlier statement, Wicker said, "A good case study on unions' impact on economic growth is the auto industry. By demanding above-market compensation and counterproductive work rules, union costs have brought the Big Three auto manufacturers to the brink of bankruptcy, leaving them to ask for billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts in order to continue operating."

David Rumbarger, president and CEO of the Community Development Foundation in Tupelo, said a card check law would hurt efforts to recruit manufacturing to the region.

Rumbarger described the debate as a "bellwether issue" in the 1st Congressional District.

Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Brandon, and Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis, also oppose the measure. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, supports it.

Contact Joe Rutherford at (662) 678-1597 or joe.rutherford@djournal.com

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