thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check

Look, informed people can disagree on important political issues. But before one goes shooting off their mouth — or their e-mouth, in the case of the Internet — it would be wise to do some sort of research. Yet proponents of the horrifically misnamed Employee Free Choice Act seem to go out of their way to push the bill while remaining grossly ignorant about the topic and underlying facts.

Case in point: “RickIsThinking” at DailyKos. In a recent diary, titled “The Employee Free Choice Act Should Not Get Watered Down,” Rick wasn’t thinking much when he wrote:

First came the talk of a possible compromise by removing the card check provision — now big business wants to do away with binding arbitration and the penalties it would face in not getting a first contract.

I read today that Representative John Kline, a republican from Minnesota (who I never heard of before today) said, “From my perspective the bill is very bad policy because it takes away the secret ballot.” But that is bullshit, it doesn’t take away the secret ballot at all. How does a politician get quoted in the news blatantly lying and get away with it? With all the deregulation, there is clearly zero regulation on these people.

Ugg. Where to begin? Here’s the quick version:

• Card check does effectively remove the secret ballot — anyone who claims otherwise does so in the face of evidence (namely, you know, the actual language in the bill itself). Will “Rick” read the bill before calling the next person a liar? We hope so, but doubt it.
• Deregulation as a boogeyman again, eh? American businesses, particularly small business, faces an enormous burden in red tape. A rough estimate puts the cost of regulatory compliance at more than $1.7 trillion each year.
• Again, regarding getting a first contract — setting an agreement covering every employee in the unit’s wages, hours, work rules, and benefits takes a while so EFCA’s rush to a contract ought to be troubling to more people. In fact, if one cares about workers, there would be more concern over having a contract imposed upon them by a government bureaucrat.

But there’s a statement — perhaps a small one, but an offensive one nonetheless — that gets our attention. “Rick” writes:

He also said that because the bill imposes binding arbitration and increases penalties on business, from his perspective … it is not a good law. BUT HAS THIS GUY EVER ORGANIZED A UNION? Has this guy ever even worked a day in this life?

Hmm… “Has this guy ever even worked a day in his life?” It sure would be awesome if there were some giant, accessible medium for searching and finding information like a representative’s bio. Since we have mastered the magical technology of the Internet, we popped over to see if indeed Rep. Kline was a shiftless ne’er-do-well and this is what we found:

Although this marks his first elected office, John Kline spent several years in Washington during his 25-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps. He distinguished himself as a helicopter pilot and earned the responsibility of flying Marine One, the President’s personal helicopter. John was also hand-picked to serve as a personal military aide to President Jimmy Carter, and subsequently to President Ronald Reagan. John’s responsibilities during this period included carrying the nuclear “football” – the briefcase containing the nuclear war plans and strike options in case of a national emergency.

During his successful career in the Marines, John served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, commanded all Marine aviation forces in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and served as the Program Development Officer at Headquarters Marine Corps, where he was responsible for the Program Objective Memorandum – the document used by the U.S. Armed Services to submit budgetary and planning proposals. Among his many medals and awards are four Legion of Merit Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, a Naval Commendation Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, and the Defense Superior Service Award. He retired from the Marine Corps with the rank of Colonel.

Readers here can judge for themselves whether serving in the Marines for more than two decades, carrying the nuclear football, flying Marine One, and racking up service medals constitutes a “real job.” Apparently this is how Kos readers thank those who serve in uniform and the Capitol.

It’s that same kind of deep thinking that is pushing EFCA and that just might be one reason thinking people oppose it.

Tags: Lies, Rep. John Kline