National Right to Work Committee Launches TV Ad Blitz to Urge Senator Ben Nelson to Oppose Big Labor Power Grabs

National Right to Work Committee Press Release (12/31/2009):

Worker Advocate says Nelson could once again be deciding vote

Springfield, VA – The National Right to Work Committee will begin today a television ad campaign in media markets throughout Nebraska to convince U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D) to publicly oppose the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill (S. 560), or any other bill that gives union bosses more power over Nebraska workers, including voting to uphold a filibuster and oppose cloture when the bill comes to the floor.  (Video Link)

“With Big Labor ally Barack Obama in the Oval Office, the national union bosses see a golden opportunity to ram their power grabs through Congress, forcing millions of workers and hundreds of thousands of small businesses under union boss control,” said Doug Stafford, Vice President of the National Right to Work Committee.

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has repeatedly stated his intention to pass the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill or similar legislation.

“If ‘Card Check’ or a similar union boss power grab passes,” said Stafford, “employees nationwide will lose their right to a secret ballot during union elections.

“And once those workers are forcibly unionized without a vote, if the union bosses can stretch out contract negotiations past 90 days by making outrageous demands, Obama Administration bureaucrats will have the power to use this so-called ‘problem’ as an excuse to write a new labor contract and force its terms and conditions of employment upon those workers.

“What’s worse, recently, ‘ideas’ have been floated by Big Labor lobbyists for ‘Plan B’ legislation in an attempt to pull fence-riding Senators — like Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson — into their camp.

“One thing is certain: Whatever ‘final’ bill Big Labor’s allies stamp their approval on won’t be some watered-down ‘compromise’ bill that causes no harm to American workers and our fragile economy. Either way, workers’ rights will be trampled on by the U.S. Senate’s action.

“The vote on ‘Card Check’ could come up any day now, and with the vote tally on this bill likely to come down to the wire, Senator Nelson’s vote is absolutely critical.

“In the previous session of Congress, Senator Nelson voted in favor of this legislation.”

Said Doug Stafford, “Recently, Senator Nelson has claimed that he’s against both ‘Card Check’ and binding arbitration. But he refuses to say how he’ll vote on cloture.

“And as we recently saw on the healthcare bill, due to the partisan makeup of Congress, cloture is the only vote that matters.

“The fact is, if Big Labor can garner 60 Senators to break a filibuster on a cloture vote and get ‘Card Check’ to the floor, the union bosses’ allies will no longer need Senator Nelson’s vote to ram ‘Card Check’ or similar bills into law.

“Since 1999, 98 percent of all legislation that cleared the 60-vote cloture threshold ultimately passed into law.”

Doug Stafford continued, “Having cast the deciding vote on national healthcare legislation last week, breaking the filibuster against the bill, Big Labor’s allies in Congress know Senator Nelson is vulnerable to pressure.

“However, Senator Nelson should realize that he isn’t fooling anyone in Washington — or at home — by trying to play both sides.

“Hopefully, the TV Ad blitz will convince all opponents of forced unionism in Nebraska to apply some pressure of their own and contact Senator Nelson today, urging him to oppose the so-called ‘Card Check’ Bill or any similar bill — on every vote — before it’s too late.”

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