Chamber to Leverage Grassroots Network in Union Effort

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching an extensive campaign to counteract union efforts to “radically rewrite the nation’s employment laws,” and extend their reach into the everyday operations of companies, according to two top Chamber officials.

“Unions are bolder, more aggressive and frankly, more effective than we’ve seen in decades,” said Steven Law, the Chamber’s Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel. “They are flexing the power of money to expand their influence.”

Speaking at a press conference on June 5, Law and Chamber Vice President for Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefits Randy Johnson outlined the main policy goals of union groups for the next administration and Congress, and laid out what the Chamber would do to fight those efforts.

The new Chamber initiative will activate the organization’s grassroots network to stop the labor agenda, particularly in key states where pro-business Senators are being targeted by unions, Law said.

As part of the effort, the Chamber is working with local and state chambers to educate them on how the labor agenda will impact their local economies and undermine the competitiveness of  local businesses. The Chamber has also supplied hundreds of its small business members and state and local chambers with “citizen action kits” that provide resources on how to contact members of Congress and the media to make sure Chamber members are “educated and equipped” to fight the labor agenda, Law said.

Law pointed to a recent study commissioned by the Chamber that found that 58% of respondents feel that labor unions are too powerful politically. Nearly three-quarters  strongly agree that unions should not use their members’ dues for political goals that their members might not agree with.

The unions’ Hill agenda includes--among other things--passing “card check” legislation to make it easier for unions to organize; new regulations on ergonomics; a removal of the caps on damages under civil rights laws; and an expansion of the Worker Adjustment and Notification Act, which mandates an employer’s obligations when a plant or facility is forced to close.

“It’s an iceberg and we’re the ship, and we either have got to deal with it or steer clear, and we can’t steer clear of it,” Johnson said about the union efforts to build support in Congress and establish a filibuster-proof Senate.

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