Should President Obama be re-elected, his thank you note to the union bosses will come in the form of legislation, according to AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka:
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka tells The Atlantic’s Molly Ball that so-called card-check legislation will happen in a second Obama term:
“[…] You’ll see it,” he says. “That’s within the next term.” How is that possible, without a Democratic House of Representatives or 60 votes in the Senate? Trumka smiles. His eyes twinkle.
“There’s another election between now and then,” he says. And the AFL-CIO isn’t going anywhere.
The legislation would make it easier for labor unions to organize by abolishing the secret ballot — and was a top labor priority during Obama’s first term. And it’s one of the enduring sources of tension between the labor movement and the Obama administration.