Labor in the News (10/21/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

DC Unions Throw Support Behind DC City Council Candidate Michael Brown: Labor unions joined DC City Council At-Large candidate Michael Brown outside his headquarters last week to throw their support behind his campaign, reported Nikita Stewart on the Washington Post website Thursday. Representatives from the SEIU MD/DC State Council, SEIU Local 722, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, AFSCME locals and the Washington DC Building and Trades Council turned out for the event, Stewart reported. The Metro Council has endorsed DC Councilmember Kwame Brown for the first At-Large seat but has taken no position on the second seat. Other Metro Council endorsements include: DC City Council: Jack Evans (Ward 2), Muriel Bowser (Ward 4), Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) and Marion Barry (Ward 8); DC Congressional Delegate: Eleanor Holmes Norton; Shadow Senator: Paul Strauss. EFCA Battle Featured in the Post: An intense battle is brewing between labor and anti-worker business groups over the Employee Free Choice Act, reported Michael Fletcher in Saturday’s Washington Post. “The Employee Free Choice Act -- which would require employers to recognize unions once a majority of workers sign cards of support -- would be perhaps the most significant change in federal labor law in six decades,” Fletcher reported. “The union proposal is strongly endorsed by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and a bevy of congressional Democrats, who see it as a way to increase the clout of workers who have been losing economic ground over the past three decades.” Click here to read the full report and here for more info on the Employee Free Choice Act.