All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

President Obama hailed the Senate Finance Committee's vote in favor of health care reform on Tuesday, but as the pressure falls on Senate leadership to move forward with the reform process, liberal advocacy groups are insisting the moderate Finance Committee's bill is not good enough.

Labor unions are making good on their promise to withold support for any health care bill without a government insurance plan, or "public option." The AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America (CWA), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and about two dozen other unions are running a full page ad today blasting the Finance bill as "deeply flawed."

"A public health insurance plan option is essential to reform," reads the ad, which is running in the Washington Post, USA Today and newspapers catering to Capitol Hill. Besides calling for a public option, it insists health care reform must include a mandate for employers to contribute to the cost of care -- both proposals were left out of the Finance Committee bill.

The ad also attacks the bill for including a tax on insurers for costly health care plans. "A new tax on the middle class is unacceptable," it says.

Labor unions have put their alliance with Democrats to the test over the issue of health care. Last week, over 100 AFL-CIO leaders from 27 states traveled to Capitol Hill to lobby their congressmen. They delivered thousands of letters written by constituents in support of a bill that meets their demands.

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Updated 1:56 p.m. ET

Walking into a raucous ovation, President Obama actually appeared to be touched by the reception he was given at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.

"You're making me blush," he said, uttering a series of "thank yous" for the prolonged applause that greeted Mr. Obama at this campaign rally-like event.

"You know, the White House is pretty nice, but there's nothing like being back in a house of labor," he added, to even more applause.

Introducing the president was outgoing AFL-CIO head John Sweeney, who declared that labor is the wind behind the president's back in his fight for health care.

He also took a swipe at some of the opponents to health care, calling some their language "Outrageous disrespect for Barack Obama, the presidency itself and the millions of Americans who elected him."

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Although President Obama spoke at the AFL-CIO's annual Labor Day picnic — "America's biggest," the president said — and was broadcast on the cable news channels, some of his remarks might have directed at one senator.

While Mr. Obama is expected to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday to lay out his plan to reform the nation's health-care system, the president said Monday he hoped for "a marketplace" for health insurance that would "continue to hold down costs."

"I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help," Mr. Obama said.

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One day after announcing the resignation of his adviser on green jobs, President Obama will introduce his senior adviser on manufacturing.

CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller reports that Ron Bloom has traveled with Mr. Obama for his introduction at a manufacturing-friendly audience — the AFL-CIO's annual Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati.

Bloom isn't a stranger to unions, and this won't be his first position in Washington. Knoller reports that Bloom will continue to serve as a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's Auto Industry Task Force. Previously, Bloom served as a legal adviser to the president of the United Steelworkers Union.

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There has been a fierce battle this year over a piece of legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill the potential to revitalize the U.S. labor movement. On one side of the debate is organized labor, which has seen its rolls shrink dramatically in the past 50 years. Just 7.6 percent of private-sector workers now belong to a union.

On the other side are business groups, who say the legislation will cripple businesses by increasing labor costs at the worst possible time. (Here's Hotsheet's primer on the bill.)

On Friday, the New York Times ran a front-page story declaring a key provision in the bill known as "card check" -- which would mandate that a union is formed when a majority of a company's employees sign cards saying they want one -- effectively dead. According to the Times, moderate Senate Democrats killed the provision during negotiations, arguing that it is undemocratic because it effectively eliminates secret ballots. Since Democrats need all sixty of their Senate votes to overcome a filibuster of the legislation, these moderates -- among them Arlen Specter, Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln -- are key to the bill's passage.

But representatives on both sides of the issue signaled in interviews with Hotsheet Friday that they are skeptical of the Times report. Josh Goldstein of American Rights at Work said in an interview that it is "premature to make any assumptions about what's going on in negotiations when the people who are in those negotiations are clearly stating that there is no deal."

"As far as I know, majority sign up is still on the table," he said. "And we're still fighting for it."

And Mark McKinnon of the Workforce Fairness Institute, a business group, told Hotsheet, "I don't think it's so much a compromise as it is a trial balloon."

But it's logical that a compromise had to come -- Democrats simply did not have the votes to push through the legislation without one. Indeed, from a pragmatic perspective, the deal outlined in the Times might actually be a victory for labor, since it may have saved a bill that still has a lot in it that would help unions, even without the card check provision. Someone like Specter, who announced his opposition to EFCA earlier this year, could plausibly change his mind and back it with the card check provision stripped out.

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A new White House economic report emphasizes the need for "worker flexibility" in a changing labor market.

While the study cites the historic resilience of the U.S. economy, it warns "the growth path may not look the same as that envisioned before the recession."

The study indicates the best job prospects are in "the already-expanding health care sector" and environmental occupations. It says those fields are growing at a faster rate than the overall economy, creating white collar and blue collar openings.

Not surprisingly, the administration's report pins hopes for economic gains on the $787 billion stimulus package. It continues to project saving or creating 3.5 million jobs by the fourth quarter of next year. It says near term recovery could be helped by "pent-up" demand by consumers.

The report forecasts moderation in the decades-long decline in manufacturing jobs. It predicts job creation in the aerospace and pharmaceutical industries. It says the construction industry will "eventually recover" and add more jobs in the coming decade.

White House economists say occupations that hire workers with post-secondary education and training are growing faster than other fields. The report by the Council of Economic Advisers also points to "an expected shift towards jobs that require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills." The report calls for "a comprehensive strategy" to create strong, effective education and training programs.

The full report can be found here.

The so-called “card check” bill, which could revitalize the U.S. labor movement, was delivered a “death blow” today, in the words of the Hill, when Sen. Arlen Specter announced that he would oppose the legislation.

We broke down the battle between labor and business over card check, which would make it far easier for employees to form unions, here. The reason Specter’s opposition is such a blow is that he was the only Republican thought to be considering backing the legislation; without him, Democrats likely cannot get the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. Specter was the only Republican to back the bill last time it was introduced.

Pro-business groups have been aggressively lobbying to stop the bill, formally known as the Employee Free Choice Act, and they quickly released statements applauding Specter’s decision.

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What is it with this administration’s top officials that they have so much trouble taking an oath of office?

We heard another fumble again this morning at the ceremonial swearing-in for Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath – reading it from a card. Solis repeated line after line until Biden said: “...of the office upon which I’m about to enter.”

Solis, obviously nervous, said “...upon which the office I’m about to enter.”

Close – but no cigar.

Today’s swearing-in was for show only. She was sworn-in for real the day of her Senate confirmation February 24th.

In her remarks, Solis served notice that she aims to be protector-in-chief of the nation’s workers.

“To those who have for too long abused workers, put them in harms way, denied them fair pay – let me be clear: there is a new sheriff in town.”

Her audience of department employees responded with a standing ovation.

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A major fight between unions and big business kicks into high gear today with the introduction in the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in both chambers of Congress. Here’s a primer on the bill, the arguments on both sides, and the potential implications of the legislation, which, if passed, could revitalize the long-declining U.S. labor movement.

What Is It?

EFCA is legislation that would make it far easier for employees to form a union. It would, first and foremost, create rules specifying that a union is automatically formed if a majority of employees sign cards saying they want to join up – a method of organizing commonly known as “card check.”

It’s worth noting that the so-called “card check” option is actually already allowed, but with a crucial caveat – it is up to employers, not employees, whether or not it can be used. Under the current law, employers can choose to mandate that union organization take place not through card check but via a secret ballot and then an election. That option is generally preferred by businesses that would rather not see their employees unionized.

The EFCA legislation would also stiffen penalties for companies deemed to be violating employee rights and gives workers and employers the option of going to mediation and then arbitration if negotiations break down.

The View From Business Groups

Business interests strongly oppose EFCA. “It will be a boot on the throat of business and it will compound exponentially the economic difficulties that American businesses are suffering today,” Mark McKinnon, spokesman for the anti-EFCA business group the Workforce Fairness Institute, told Hotsheet.

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Vice President Joe Biden gave a warm and well-received speech to the AFL-CIO Executive Council at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida today.

“And old joke…you go home with them that brung you to the dance,” the vice president said, according to remarks put out by the White House. “Well, you all brought me to the dance a long time ago. And it's time we start dancing, man. It's time we start dancing.”

Biden noted that the National Labor Relations Act “explicitly says this nation's policy is to encourage -- encourage -- collective bargaining, encourage unions.”

He said he backed so-called card-check legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize. Many business groups oppose the legislation.

The vice president added that “what is news here is you now have an American president and vice president, and the speaker of the House and the majority leader who agree with everything [AFL-CIO President] John Sweeney (left) said.”

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