HuffPo: Bailout Recipients Hosted Call to Defeat Key Labor Bill

[flpoljunkie]

Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill

January 27, 2008

Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.

Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.

Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.

"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

more...and, with audio!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/bank-of-america-hosted-an_n_161248.html

[Thrill]

1. The Free Choice Act is never going to pass unless the Dems have like 62 votes

Because it has no Repuke support. Specter is waffling on it. And at this point you can't count on Dems like Blanche Lincoln to vote for it

[Barack_America]

3. Then Specter is getting a call from me tomorrow.

And Casey too, just to be safe.

[firedupdem]

2. I keep seeing commercials about it here in Nebraska, these

folks hate unions. We'll see what happens.

[uponit7771]

4. In Nor Texas there have been plenty of commercials for the EFCA, we'll

see in the end if progressives are mobilized enough.

Grass roots messages are always best

[avaistheone1]

5. I see the working people of America are supposed to pay for these bank executives

bonuses, spa trips and luxury jets --- and in return they want to keep feeding labor crumbs.

:wtf:

[democracy1st]

6. You got it! I wouldn't have gave their a.. a dime

[flpoljunkie]

7. Must read from Robert Reich: The Union Way Up

The union way up
America, and its faltering economy, need unions to restore prosperity to the middle class.

By Robert B. Reich

January 26, 2009

Why is this recession so deep, and what can be done to reverse it?

Hint: Go back about 50 years, when America's middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring. Paychecks were big enough to allow us to buy all the goods and services we produced. It was a virtuous circle. Good pay meant more purchases, and more purchases meant more jobs.

The way to get the economy back on track is to boost the purchasing power of the middle class. One major way to do this is to expand the percentage of working Americans in unions.

Tax rebates won't work because they don't permanently raise wages. Most families used the rebate last year to pay off debt -- not a bad thing, but it doesn't keep the virtuous circle running.

Bank bailouts won't work either. Businesses won't borrow to expand without consumers to buy their goods and services. And Americans themselves can't borrow when they're losing their jobs and their incomes are dropping.

Tax cuts for working families, as President Obama intends, can do more to help because they extend over time. But only higher wages and benefits for the middle class will have a lasting effect.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-reich26-2009jan26,0,7180340.story