Check back often for the latest news.

• Democrats Need a Rally Monkey
  Mar 6, 2010 — New York Times
  “When a party’s snakebit, it’s really snakebit,” said Charlie Cook, the independent political handicapper, who is predicting a thumpin’ for Democrats in November. Pushing the Employee Free Choice Act could rally labor. In the scenario best for the Democrats, the Tea Party peaked with Mr.
• Still With Obama, but Worried
  Mar 3, 2010 — New York Times
  Obama has not pressed for immigration reform this year. Trumka said that unions would not campaign for Democrats who had done little for labor, especially on issues like the card-check bill. Obama got a health care overhaul enacted and advanced a bill making it easier to unionize, that would go far to re-energize the labor base.
• In speech to AFL-CIO, Biden defends bailouts, jobs-creation agenda
  Mar 2, 2010 — The Hill
  That’s where labor is going to lead.
• The Obama administration's poor relationship with Labor
  Mar 2, 2010 — Washington Post
  They don't have the votes, and they'll be even further from having the votes come January. Not only is that not enough, but it's not smart in the long run: Democrats need a strong labor movement, yes, but so too do American workers. Without Labor, workers have no organized lobby advocating (however imperfectly) for their political interests and no countervailing force against the corporate sector.
• Issues Tabled, Left Still Professes Hope
  Feb 21, 2010 — Politico
  Ben SmithThe news releases remain hopeful: Comprehensive immigration reform this spring! Labor leaders and immigration reform groups alike warn that their constituents will stay home in droves this fall. The Employee Free Choice Act didn't even get a mention in the State of the Union, though Obama technically supports it.
• AFL-CIO urges supporters to challenge White House about NLRB
  Feb 12, 2010 — Washington Post
  But guess who was left out of the deal? Meanwhile, the NLRB, tasked with protecting American workers' rights, has been handicapped with vacancies for the past two years.Enough is enough. America's working people are getting short shrift and it's past time to do something about it.
• Brown's first vote not the deciding one
  Feb 10, 2010 — The Boston Globe
  But by the time he cast his first vote on the Senate floor yesterday, much of that drama had evaporated.Storm drives lawmakers home. A secret ballot vote would not be required.Business groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce argue card check would allow unions to unduly pressure workers into forming unions.
• GOP seeks to block Obama's labor pick
  Feb 4, 2010 — The Boston Globe
  The final vote, to be held today before Brown's swearing in, will require only a 51-vote majority. Organized labor groups argue that employers now hold far more leverage over workers and pressure them to reject collective bargaining.Becker has further inflamed Republicans because he is prolabor. In his legal writings, Becker has suggested that many of the goals of card check legislation could be accomplished through administrative rule-making, circumventing a vote in Congress.
• Obama nominee's fate in flux as labor lawyer loses GOP support
  Feb 4, 2010 — The Hill
  Kevin BogardusTwo Senate Republicans who previously supported a controversial labor board nominee opposed him on Thursday, putting his confirmation in doubt.Sens. But his nomination stalled under heavy lobbying by business groups. He wondered if the Republicans were just instituting delay tactics to stop his confirmation.But concerns remained among Republicans even after a Tuesday confirmation hearing for Becker.
• Traveler's Aide: Customer gets lost looking for GPS refund
  Feb 3, 2010 — USA Today
  Can you get the erroneous GPS fee refunded?— John Manfredo, Owens, Ill.Answer: GPS navigation units are popular car-rental options. Thrifty has been offering GPS rentals since 2005, and the devices typically cost $11.99 per day. I often hear from readers who inadvertently purchase collision-damage waivers, for example, but once the contract is signed and the rental is complete, car-rental companies won't normally refund those charges.
• Labor needs a new survival plan
  Jan 29, 2010 — The Boston Globe
  There was also collateral damage for already-frustrated union backers of the president. Instead, he placated labor by appointing a presidential commission to study the topic. The panel frittered away the only two years during Clinton's presidency when Democrats controlled Congress.
• Obama: 'i Don't Quit' -- J. Harris: 'document Of Downsized Ambitions For A Downsized Moment In His Presidency' -- Speaker Wants Military Included In Spending Freeze -- Bloomberg Balks At 9/11 Trial
  Jan 28, 2010 — Politico
  I hated it -- (applause.) I hated it. Bloomberg said that a more secure location, like a military base, would be less disruptive and less costly. While the Shinwaris are now united against the Taliban, if payments from the Americans falter or animosities flare with the Afghan government, the tribe could switch back just as quickly.
• Refund request checks hotel guest into circle of confusion
  Jan 27, 2010 — USA Today
  When I checked in, I gave my Discover card to the front desk clerk. After we had figured this out, the hotel said it would contact Hotels.com to refund the charge. After her billing trouble started, Chan contacted Hotels.com, which in turn went back to the hotel for an explanation.
• Labor Helps Kill Its Own Top Priority
  Jan 26, 2010 — Politico
  I’ll never give up on it.”For a year, labor leaders kept their bargain with Congressional Democrats and the White House: health care first, then EFCA. The election of Martha Coakley to fill the seat held for decades by Sen. But the Senate by that time was consumed by the health care issue and the issue was delayed.Now, Ackerman said labor leaders are trying to scope out the best way forward.
• Labor board nominee heats up battle over union-organizing rules
  Jan 25, 2010 — The Hill
  Labor lawyer Craig Becker was re-nominated to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week. Along with Harkin, the AFL-CIO and the SEIU are supporting Becker’s nomination. A spokesman for Enzi declined to comment further on Becker’s nomination.
• Nominee to Labor board heats up card-check fight
  Jan 25, 2010 — The Hill
  Labor lawyer Craig Becker was re-nominated to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week. Along with Harkin, the AFL-CIO and the SEIU are supporting Becker’s nomination. A spokesman for Enzi declined to comment further on Becker’s nomination.
• The 2010 Congressional Agenda
  Jan 12, 2010 — Politico
  To blunt that message, a bipartisan group of 31 senators has asked Obama to back an 18-member bipartisan deficit-reduction commission. It’s opposed by House Democratic leaders and some powerful senators. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) introduced legislation that would open a door for legal status to illegal immigrants.In the Senate, Schumer is working with Republicans to craft a bipartisan immigration bill.
• Democrats walk a tightrope ahead of election
  Jan 5, 2010 — Los Angeles Times
  Phillipenas represents a Teamsters local; Taylor, the culinary workers. Phillipenas believes card check should be a priority. Reid can count on the Latino vote, supporters say.
• Speaker Pelosi to shield vulnerable members from controversial votes
  Dec 16, 2009 — The Hill
  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has privately told her politically vulnerable Democratic members that they will not vote on controversial bills in 2010 unless the Senate acts first. The House will not move on the issue until the upper chamber passes a bill, Pelosi told the members. Obama and Reid have vowed to pursue immigration reform in 2010.
• For Labor, There's Always Next Year
  Dec 15, 2009 — Politico
  The Northwest and Delta airline merger last year brought together a mix of workers, with some Northwest employees unionized and some Delta workers not unionized. For 75 years, transportation workers, unlike others, have had to win the votes of a majority of the work force in order to unionize. The board had competing petitions then: one to change the voting process and another to make it easier to decertify a union.The board ultimately rejected both.
• White House Expects Job Growth By Spring - Obama Will Press Bankers To Ease Credit -- Noonan: Obama Bows To Reality, Moves Center -- Google Tries Hardware -- Mo B'day
  Dec 13, 2009 — Politico
  Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.): “Democratic office holders have a lock on Arkansas politics, but for months opinion polls have recorded a big swing to the right. It runs Android, the operating system for mobile phones that Google developed, they added. Ballots were mailed to 870 media personnel across the nation plus 55 Heisman winners and one fan ballot, for a total of 926 electors.
• Column: Mr. President, here's how to lift our economy
  Dec 3, 2009 — USA Today
  Growing government, as was done with the stimulus, inevitably depresses the private sector and job creation. For example, install a robust investment tax credit, permit businesses to expense capital purchases made in 2010, and reduce payroll taxes. Government encroachment on free enterprise is depressing investment and job creation.
• Vote records can hamper member's political ambitions
  Dec 2, 2009 — The Hill
  Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) and former Rep. While Sestak has run to Specter’s left in the primary, former Rep. In contrast to Meek, another Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member, Rep.
• Letters: Encourage gifts, safe use of credit
  Dec 1, 2009 — USA Today
  Credit card debt has contributed to poverty in America. The best way to combine promoting the safe use of credit and helping others would be to allow only debit cards and checks along with the usual loose change. This would still allow shoppers to give more money, while promoting safe financial practices.
• Frank talk about an earlier Chamber of Commerce study
  Nov 16, 2009 — Washington Post
  EditorBy Alec MacGillisWhen The Washington Post obtained an e-mail from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce soliciting donations to fund a health care reform study with seemingly foreordained results, Chamber officials denied that they were seeking findings that were anything less than objective."It's not saying that we would tell the economist [conducting the study] how it should come out," Chamber senior vice president Randy Johnson told The Post's Michael Shear on...
• Pawlenty's forays demonstrate need for polish
  Nov 9, 2009 — Washington Post
  First, Pawlenty waded into a special election in upstate New York on behalf of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman -- a move that came directly on the heels of former Alaska Gov. But Brown's primary primacy was short-lived, as California Sen. And that's not good news for Crist. 2. Pennsylvania Senate (Democratic primary): The race between party-switching Sen.
• Tpaw's bad week
  Nov 5, 2009 — Washington Post
  Chris CillizzaMinnesota Republican Gov.
• Full Slate of Issues Likely to Extend Lawmakers' Work Calendar
  Sep 16, 2009 — Washington Post
  The House has voted to do so, but the Senate has not. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has proposed locking in the current exemption and rate permanently, while Sens. Several lawmakers are pushing for a 13-week extension.In the next tier are the measures that do not require action but that congressional leaders are eager to complete this year.
• Labor's Chance to Strengthen Its Political Punch
  Sep 16, 2009 — Washington Post
  At the AFL-CIO's 2005 convention, a number of unions left the federation to form a rival organization, Change to Win. Which is why every union, no matter its federation, has prioritized the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would amend labor law to better enable private-sector workers to organize. Rich Trumka, Sweeney's successor, will bring to labor a fiery eloquence that is light-years from Sweeney's sometimes-snoozy speechmaking.
• AFL-CIO president is giving up his role but not the cause
  Sep 7, 2009 — Los Angeles Times
  He came to power as an insurgent vowing to shake up the stodgy House of Labor that was the AFL-CIO. Sweeney's departure comes at a crucial juncture. Labor's No. 1 legislative priority, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would ease the way for union organization, faces an uncertain future.
• Pace of Change Under Obama Frustrates Unions
  Sep 7, 2009 — New York Times
  Obama’s running mate helped with his union bona fides. Trade is an especially contentious issue; unions are irked that Mr. Obama, both on immigration (they want legislation offering a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants) and the Employee Free Choice Act, the bill to make organizing easier.
• Labor Squanders Opportunities on 'Card Check' and a Health-Care Public Option
  Sep 6, 2009 — Washington Post
  After eight years in the political wilderness during the Bush administration, it has a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president. Employers can intimidate workers out of supporting a union with something close to impunity. Speeding up the election process so that employers don't have weeks to browbeat workers.
• Letter From Washington: Infighting Is Blunting Labor's Clout
  Sep 6, 2009 — New York Times
  Sweeney and Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees, are enemies. Trumka, former head of the mine workers, to succeed Mr. Unions wish the administration would push harder on the Employee Free Choice Act; Obama aides say health care comes first.
• Specter would support cloture on 'modified' card-check
  Aug 14, 2009 — The Hill
  Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), told the “Netroots Nation” that he would support a cloture vote to bypass a filibuster for a modified version of the card-check bill. While Democrats hold 60 seats in the Senate, they have trouble mustering 60 votes given the ailing health of Sens.
• Panel worries business
  Jul 30, 2009 — The Hill
  Becker, a former law professor at Georgetown, UCLA and the University of Chicago, was a member of Obama’s transition team.In a letter to Kennedy and ranking committee member Sen.
• Senators discuss removing card-check provision
  Jul 17, 2009 — The Hill
  They oppose another part of the bill that would allow an arbitrator appointed by the government to resolve differences.