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UNIONS RALLY IN PINE BLUFF, ON THEIR WAY TO LITTLE ROCK

By Larry Fugate/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Saturday, July 11, 2009 10:15 PM CDT

Unions brought the political fight for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) to Pine Bluff Saturday morning before heading to Little Rock to attempt to pressure on U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln to support the legislation.

Declaring Arkansas as “ground-zero” for the unions, Stewart Acuff, assistant to John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, told supporters at the Pine Bluff Labor Temple the goal of the Little Rock rally meant getting Lincoln, who withdrew her support for the legislation, to change her mind again.

EFCA backers picked up support in the Senate during the week with Minnesota Democrat Al Franken taking the oath of office and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., changing his mind. To secure a filibuster-proof majority, Acuff said Lincoln and Arkansas' junior senator, Mark Pryor, would be crucial.

Acuff said Pryor has been working with other Senate moderates on a compromise that would assure passage of the legislation.

Support of African-Americans is also vital to the bill, Acuff said, in pressuring Lincoln to sign on. Unions have obtained a majority in the House, so the battle comes down to the Senate and Arkansas.

Tom Pevey, president of the Jefferson County Trades and Labor Council, and Maxine Nelson, chair of Arkansas ACORN, also spoke during the Pine Bluff Rally.

There are strong ties among unions and the workplace and blacks and the civil rights movement, Acuff observed, explaining why caravans from a number of Arkansas cities were headed to Central High School, to be followed by a march to the Capitol and rally.

“Everyone is watching Arkansas,” a right-to-work state with low union enrollment, Acuff said, explaining the presence of major union leaders in Little Rock for the rally.

American families are being continually squeezed by the economic crisis, Acuff noted, adding weight to the union argument that EFCA is vital to recovery.

While American productivity is up 75 percent since 1973, wages have remained flat, leaving 50 million without health care and poverty rolls that have increased by 20 percent, Acuff told the Pine Bluff rally.

Consumer demand, which drives the U.S. Economy, is down because of lower income, Acuff added. He said Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods oppose EFCA because strong unions are the backbone of our democracy.

Secret ballot elections for unionization would be eliminated under EFCA, opponents contend, and compulsory arbitration would take away the right of workers to vote on a contract.

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