| Unions Continue to Press For EFCA as Obama Calls For More Measured Approach |
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In a Washington Post article today, President-elect Obama indicated support for the Employee Free Choice Act, but said "there may be other ways to achieve the same goal without angering businesses." He made it clear that, while organized labor and many congressional Democrats want the bill to move quickly, he has no desire to rush into the contentious issue, given the current economic climate: "If we're losing half a million jobs a month, then there are no jobs to unionize, so my focus first is on those key economic priority items I just mentioned." Meanwhile, the union-backed American Rights at Work this week conducted a press conference to launch a new ad campaign and ramp up a full court press for the legislation. The real issue raised by the Obama remarks is the perception of "what angers business." Strong opposition to card checks has been made very clear, and that is the public's perception of where the concerns lie. It is doubtful that there is an equal awareness of the concerns about the compulsory arbitration provisions, as well as the potential for a "quickie election" that would deprive employees of the ability to hear all sides of the unionization question. In the months ahead, as the issue continues to evolve, the business community will need to amplify its concern that the bill is not just a "card check bill."
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Washington Post Article
American Rights At Work Ad Campaign
Staff Contact
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| Senate Clears Way for Passage of Ledbetter Measure Next Week |
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This week, the Senate voted 72 to 23 to proceed to debate on the Ledbetter bill, which would effectively eliminate the statute of limitations in most employment discrimination cases. Several Republicans otherwise opposed to the bill voted aye after an agreement was reached to allow Republicans to offer amendments. Among those will be an amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) which would start the clock on the statute of limitations at the point where a plaintiff “should be expected to have enough information” to realize he or she was the victim of employment discrimination. By contrast, the bill (S. 181) would begin a new period with each paycheck or pension benefit check. The Senate measure will not include the language of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which was incorporated in the House-passed bill. Though passage of a bill in some form by the Senate is a virtual certainty, it remains to be seen what it looks like. At this point, the supporters have been resistant to any negotiations with the business community or Republican opponents to the introduced measure. HR Policy and others in the business community continue to hope that deliberations next week may produce a compromise that would mitigate the impact of the bill on employers and the judicial system.
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S. 181
HR Policy Letter
More Information
Washington Post Editorial
Staff Contact
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| Details Emerge on Health Care Priorities In Economic Recovery Package |
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This week, the House Appropriations Committee put forth an economic stimulus package that would provide $2 billion for health care information technology and other health reforms backed by HR Policy Association, including preventive care, primary care training, and comparative effectiveness research. The House Ways and Means Committee will introduce its own package very soon. An outline released by Ways and Means describes enhancements to COBRA, including temporary federal subsidies for those who take advantage of COBRA after losing their jobs as well as an extension of the availability of unsubsidized COBRA coverage for older and tenured workers beyond the 18 months provided under current law. Notably, the stimulus bill does not appear to have any executive compensation provisions, although it is possible that tax provisions could be offered when Ways and Means considers the bill. In addition, the Appropriations bill includes little on the labor and employment regulation front. Most noteworthy are a whistleblower provision applying to activities funded by the bill and an additional $80 million for DOL enforcement of "worker protection laws," related to the projects funded under the Act, Other features could be added as the bill moves forward. Committee action on the package will begin in both the Senate and House next week. No Senate version has yet been released.
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Appropriations Committee Website
Ways and Means Outline
Staff Contact
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| House, Senate Revisions to the TARP Program Include Broader Exec Comp Restrictions, Board Oversight |
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Changes to the financial bailout law debated by the House this week prohibit the top 25 executives of federal aid recipients from receiving or accruing any incentive compensation and allows Treasury to designate an observer at all Board and Board Committee meetings. During House consideration of the TARP Reform and Accountability Act (H.R. 384), the House passed, by 275 to 152, an amendment by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) that clarifies that these expansive provisions do not automatically apply to firms that received assistance last fall, but gives the Treasury Secretary the authority to apply them retroactively. Surprisingly, the amendment also eliminated the restrictions on firms owning or leasing corporate jets. By a vote of 151 to 274, the House rejected an amendment by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) to eliminate Treasury's oversight authority over corporate board meetings of companies receiving assistance . Hensarling argued that the provision is a slippery slope that could easily “grow into something that’s not intended.” The House is expected to complete consideration of the bill next week, and although Senate action is uncertain, it is likely that Treasury will incorporate most of these provisions into its requirements for future financial assistance. Meanwhile, to secure Senate passage of the second $350 billion in TARP, the incoming Obama administration agreed to "require that executive compensation above a specified threshold amount be paid in restricted stock or similar form that cannot be liquidated or sold until the government has been repaid."
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H.R. 384
Frank Amendment Summary
Obama Letter
Staff Contact
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| BEERG Newsletter: Is EU Employee Relations "Rulebook" Being Torn Up? |
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This week’s BEERG Newsletter examines the impact of the economic crisis on employment relations in the EU, providing several recent examples which, “only a few short months ago, would have been regarded as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘undoable.’" Among the incidents cited:
- Irish public sector unions appear ready to negotiate a new pay deal which would see cutbacks in overtime and other premium rates as the government struggles to rein in a
growing public sector deficit. For its part, the government has not ruled out actually cutting basic pay rates.
- Management at the Seagate computer disc drive manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland announced Wednesday that an immediate and indefinite 10 per cent pay cut will
impact one-third of the Derry workforce, while managers are to take pay cuts of between 15 and 25%.
- In Germany, Daimler said Monday it would put a fifth of its staff on a four-day workweek in reaction to falling demand worldwide. Daimler hopes to take advantage of a new
economic stimulus package will which see the government subsidize short-time working as an alternative to mass redundancies. (There are similar government-funded
short-time working schemes in several other European countries, such as France and the Netherlands).
- In Spain, unions are demanding that the government improve the tax treatment of redundancy payments.
BEERG observes: “What is happening in the economy is confronting employee relations executives with some of the most awesome challenges they have ever faced. Companies are struggling to find ways of balancing the need to remain economically viable, which can mean sharp headcount reductions and pay cutbacks and maintaining employee commitment at the same time.”
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BEERG Newsletter
Staff Contact
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| Sen. Reed Urges SEC Chairman Nominee to Step Up Oversight of Executive Compensation |
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This week, the Senate Banking Committee held a confirmation hearing for SEC Chairman nominee Mary Schapiro in which committee members made it clear that they expect her to focus on executive compensation and proxy access. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) stated "creatively and collectively we want to think about how we monitor executive compensation arrangements and how they provide incentives for risk taking that may threaten the viability of the enterprise. It's hard to pick out a precise statute, specific agency or entity responsible for regulating executive compensation - we normally leave that to management and the Board. However, management needs to be much more sensitive to these compensation schemes." Schapiro simply said: "I agree." In response to a question, she also noted that 40 of the largest securities markets allowed proxy access and said, "I think that it is time for the U.S. to step into that club for long-term large shareholders," a position echoed by committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT). Schapiro is expected to be confirmed as SEC Chairman as early as next week.
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Schapiro Testimony
Staff Contact
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| Internal SEIU Squabbles Generate Questions About Impact on Political Clout |
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For over a year, SEIU President Andy Stern has been embroiled in a power struggle with a major union local, even as he has been heavily engaged in the union's push for EFCA and health care reforms. Many on the left are now speculating that this increasingly bitter clash has undermined the union's lobbying efforts. At stake is a decision by the parent union to disband the dissident California local, United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW), to form a single local union for all of SEIU's nursing home and homecare workers in California. In response, UHW's executive board notified Stern that rank-and-file members are calling for a disaffiliation referendum for the entire local within 60 days, a request that Stern has turned down. These internal clashes are creating heartburn for key California Members of Congress, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Education and Labor Chairman George Miller, who are clearly annoyed at the distraction it is creating from their agenda. "This internal fight will come back to haunt labor when EFCA gets rolling," noted Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "The right wing is paying close attention, and this gives them plenty of fresh meat."
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AlterNet Article
Staff Contact
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| EBRI Explores Implications of Changing the "Inescapable Target" - Tax Exclusion for Employment-Based Health Benefits |
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A new EBRI report finds that implementing a tax cap on the exclusion of job-based health coverage could be difficult to administer for many employers and create equity issues for workers and retirees. One approach that past and current Congressional leaders have considered to help finance health care reform is changing the current tax treatment of health benefits provided through an employer. Most recently, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) called for exploring ways to restructure the tax incentives for health care coverage, including capping the exclusion for employer-provided benefits. The EBRI report notes that the existing tax treatment of employer health benefits has been an “inescapable target” because of the large cost to the federal government in foregone revenue — $147 billion for fiscal year 2009. Currently, the amount that employers contribute toward workers’ health coverage is generally excluded, without limit, from workers’ taxable income. The brief maintains that capping the exclusion would have various results for different employers and that the change would be especially difficult and costly for some companies. In addition, there are plausible scenarios where workers could incur higher taxes simply because of where they live, their employer’s ability to negotiate premiums, and the composition of the risk pool in which they are insured. HR Policy Association’s health reform position opposes capping or eliminating the tax exclusion for employer provided benefits.
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EBRI Issue Brief
Staff Contact
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| Recent Works Council Changes, Collective Bargaining in the EU Are Focus of February 19 BEERG Briefing |
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As the HR policy debate heats up in the U.S., the economic turmoil in the EU has potential for a similar upheaval. The major employee relations changes currently taking place in the European legal and economic environment will be covered in a briefing for U.S. staff of four major areas:
- The impact of the new EWC legislation adopted last December by the European Council and the European Parliament;
- Collective bargaining outcomes in 2008 in key European economies and bargaining prospects for 2009;
- Restructuring/headcount reduction strategies in the current economic and financial crisis; and
- The European Commission’s labor law agenda 2009.
The February 19 briefing will be conducted at the HR Policy Association offices in Washington, DC, by BEERG’s Tom Hayes and Alan Wild, who also serve as HR Policy’s Directors of EU and Global Affairs, respectively. Please plan to attend.
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Register for February 19 Briefing
Staff Contact
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| Likely NLRB Chairman Backs Confidentiality of Secret Ballot Process |
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A recent National Labor Relations Board decision underscores how even the most pro-union NLRB Members attach a high priority to the confidentiality of the private ballot election process. In the Chinese Daily News case, the Board overturned an administrative law judge determination that an employer had not violated the law when its attorney asked an employee how he had voted in a union election as part of a deposition in a lawsuit. Democratic Board Member Wilma Liebman, widely expected to be designated Chairman by President-elect Obama, joined in the decision that an employee's "interest in maintaining the confidentiality of his vote in the election was substantial." The decision further noted that the Board "has recognized that 'the secrecy of balloting . . . is a hallmark of our election procedures.'” This is only the latest in a long line of Board and court decisions touting the confidentiality of the secret ballot election, but it is refreshing to know that Member Liebman joins in that view.
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Chinese Daily News Decision
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