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Obama To Appear At Labor Day Rally With AFL-CIO

President Obama and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis will join AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka for an AFL-CIO rally in Milwaukee on Monday. It is traditional for Democrats to appear with some type of union gathering on Labor Day so this is not that unusual, but it will be the second time in about a month that Obama has spoken with the AFL-CIO.

Both sides- the AFL-CIO and the White House- are in campaign mode as they work to protect Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. There was a lot of talk over the past year and a half about how labor was unhappy with some of the president’s policies, but there was never any public falling out and this is one more chance to rally one of the Democrats’ most loyal constituencies.

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Projections, Inc. Ranked on “Inc. Magazine’s” Exclusive List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for the Second Year in a Row

Inc. magazine has ranked Projections, Inc. #2524 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer, maker of the iconic children’s red wagon, are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

Projections, Inc., headquartered just outside of Atlanta, is proud to have been recognized for the second year in a row, rising nearly 1000 points in the Inc. 5000 rankings. “We sincerely appreciate the confidence our clients place in us,” said CEO Walter Orechwa. “These clients rely on Projections’ expertise, to help them not just communicate, but truly connect with employees.”

Projections’ in-house capabilities include concept-to-completion video, websites and eLearning. Since 1979 these unique and multi-award-winning resources have helped corporate America continue to strengthen their workforce. Recent projects have included clients in health care, retail, trucking and logistics, industrial, manufacturing, food & beverage, vehicles, senior care and a variety of other industries.

The 2010 Inc. 5000, unveiled August 24, 2010, on Inc.com, serves as a unique illustration of the profound changes taking place in the U.S. economy. The fastest-growing sector by median revenue growth was Real Estate, now just a tiny group of 38 young, small companies, which showed 231 percent median growth over the period. (There were 121 Real Estate firms on the inaugural Inc. 5000 in 2007.) Business Products & Services is the top industry by number of companies on the list (640) and total revenue ($80.7 billion), while Health is the biggest by total employment (287,726 jobs).

Despite the fact that most of this year’s measuring period of 2006-2009 took place during the latest recession, aggregate revenue among the companies on the list actually increased to $321.6 billion, up more than 50 percent from last year. The effects of the recession are seen, however, in the median three-year growth rate, which dropped to 96 percent from last year’s 126 percent. This year’s Inc. 5000 employ a record 1.4 million people, up from one million on last year’s list. With unemployment remaining stubbornly high, policymakers and business leaders will do well to look to the Inc. 5000 companies for fresh ideas on achieving growth and creating jobs.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on www.inc.com/5000.

Additional information on Projections can be found by visiting their website at ProjectionsInc.com.

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SEIU and AFL-CIO To Pool Money For Midterms

The SEIU and AFL-CIO are coming together this fall to deploy more than $88 million on behalf of pro-union candidates throughout the country. The SEIU left the AFL-CIO in 2005, but both groups have new presidents who appear willing to work together. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and SEIU President Mary Kay Henry have been holding meetings since Henry replaced Andy Stern as leader of SEIU earlier this year.

Without a whole lot of details on where the money is going yet, we do know it will be targeted in 26 states- many of which are home to presidential battlegrounds as well as a higher than average union household rate. The unions also plan to increase their number of field workers while also upping their get out the vote efforts.

**Speaking of the AFL-CIO, they have refused to endorse incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln in her re-election battle in Arkansas. They backed her primary opponent- Bill Halter- in the spring and they are now taking “no position” in her general election tout with Rep. John Boozman.

This is one of the few cases where labor is attempting payback toward elected Democrats who they are not happy with. This decision may have been made easier by the fact that Lincoln trails Boozman by anywhere between 20 and 40 points in the polls, and many Democrats have already conceded the seat.

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Latest Gallup Poll Put Union Approval At 52 Percent

The annual Gallup poll of Americans support for labor unions showed that just 52 percent approve with 41 percent disapproving. This is the second lowest level of support on record, but is actually an uptick from the 48 percent approval they registered last year.

Polling on labor unions was first conducted in 1936, where Gallup found 72 percent of Americans approved at that time. That number peaked at 75 percent in the mid-1950s, but has slowly been declining (much like the labor movement as a whole). That said, support was still around 60 percent well into the 1990s and early 2000s, before losing support over the past two years.

When asked further questions, a plurality of Americans (40 percent) said they want unions to have less influence, compared to 29 percent who think they should have more influence and 27 percent who say the same amount. This is a reverse of just a few years back when a plurality wanted to see unions gain more influence.

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Labor Coalition Forms To Oppose Ohio Democrat

Labor unions are prepared to spend record amounts of cash in helping Democrats hold off Republicans in what in what is poised to a strong GOP year. The strategy for Democrats- along with their labor allies- is mainly a defensive, incumbent protection mode (as opposed to the last two cycles when Democrats picked off a number of seats previously held by Republicans).

And while labor unions have made no secret of the fact that there are not thrilled with some of the priorities from the administration and Congressional leaders, they have opined they prefer the current Congress to Republican control.

But at least some unions are sticking to their earlier threats and not supporting Democrats who did not support healthcare reform. In Ohio, a coalition of labor groups have formed to urge voters not to support Rep. Zack Space, a Democrat already locked in a tight re-election battle.

The coalition includes the SEIU, CWA, UAW, and UFCW and have dubbed the campaign “Skip-a-Space.”

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Lame Duck or Not?

Democratic leaders insist that they don’t plan on bringing up major legislation during the lame duck session of Congress following the November elections, and if Republicans say otherwise then they are just trying to scare you. Well, Democrats have a funny way of showing their disapproval.

In a vote yesterday which would have essentially prevented the House from meeting after the midterms, Democrats voted along party lines to kill the measure and keep the option open. High among the bills often mentioned as a lame duck candidate is the Employee Free Choice Act.

A vote in the other direction would have ruled this possibility out, but that is not the case just yet.

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Trumka Continues To Express Optimism In EFCA

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka made an appearance on CSPAN over the weekend and again stated that the Employee Free Choice Act will be voted on in Congress “this year.” Asked specifically if that meant before or after the midterm elections, and Trumka simply said “either one.”

In recent weeks, President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have again committed their support to this legislation which was introduced into committees in the House and Senate in early 2009 and has yet to come up for a vote. Whether that was simply playing lip service to a key Democratic constituency ahead of the midterms remains to be seen.

Trumka’s reason on why we haven’t seen a vote? Republicans. Trumka did not acknowledge the several Democrats in the Senate who expressed reservations about the bill, instead choosing to cast the blame on the GOP. And while unions have gone after Democrats on occasion (most notably the Arkansas Senate primary), they have continued to remain loyal to the party even though they aren’t happy with everything they have done (or not done).

Here is a clip of the interview where Trumka talks EFCA:

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Obama Welcomes NLRB/ NMB Action In Support of Unions

President Barack Obama spoke at an AFL-CIO gathering yesterday as both groups get ready for the fall’s midterm elections. His speech was well received by the group, and as we mentioned yesterday any disappointment with lack of (what the unions see as) progress will go out the window as unions plan to work overtime to maintain Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

Obama rehashed much of what he has been saying to unions since he became president. He pledged his continue support for the Employee Free Choice Act even as his administration really has done little to push it. Obama also focused on some of the more behind-the-scenes moves in support of unions; which have generally been out of the public eye. For example, he noted his labor friendly appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and National Mediation Board giving those agencies a pro-union majority. The NMB recently made an administrative decision that makes it easier to organize air and rail industries. No messy action from elected officials required and very little press coverage.

Shopfloor also got a quote from the president that seemingly indicates he would be fine with the NLRB doing what they can to enact portions (or all) of EFCA. “My administration has consistently implemented not just legislative strategies but also where we have the power through executive orders to make sure that those basic values are reflected,” Obama said.

Labor unions and liberal interest groups have been talking about this option for awhile, but I admit this is the first I heard where the president welcomes the idea.

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AFL-CIO Pledges An Additional $53 Million on Midterms

In a meeting with reporters yesterday, a top official with the AFL-CIO announced that the union conglomerate plans to spend an additional $53 million on the 2010 mid-term elections. That money is on top of what they had already prepared to dish out for the election.

As part of their “firewall” strategy to protect incumbent Democrats, they are in the process of narrowing down the candidates they will be supporting. The top priority for the union: making sure Nancy Pelosi remains Speaker of the House. While many unions, including the AFL-CIO, have not been thrilled with everything the Obama administration has done- or not done- they will urge their members to “put aside their disappointment” in supporting Democratic candidates throughout the country.

Teachers union backs Lincoln in Arkansas

It is not too surprising that a union would be backing a Democratic candidate, but the circumstances in Arkansas are a little strange. You may remember Sen. Blanche Lincoln received a strong primary challenge from Bill Halter- who was aided by unions to the tune of $10 million. Lincoln had less than kind words for unions at the time, and it appeared the feelings were mutual. But the incumbent sent out a presser yesterday proudly proclaiming that she has received the backing of the Arkansas Educators Association.

Hatch warns about NLRB

Sen. Orrin Hatch held a conference call on Monday and spoke about various topics, including the Employee Free Choice Act and the National Labor Relations Board. Basically, Hatch said EFCA is dead in the Senate but warned about what the NLRB may do:

They’ve got people on the National Labor Relations Board right now that think they can do though regulation, by the board, that which can’t get through the Senate of the United States of America.

The Senate is not going to give them card check, it’s just that simple. So what are they going to do? They’re going to come up with an approach, or have come up with an approach, that says only those who vote count in the card-check area, or in any other area – in other words, only 51 percent of those who vote, in the whole employment complex.

Now that kind of stuff has never been done before, but they’re doing it.

When they don’t have the ability to do what’s right, they’ll do what’s wrong. And to be honest with you, it’s giving us a lot of fits.

But wait, there’s more…

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Pelosi Affirms Support For EFCA

Not that there was any doubt how the Speaker of the House felt, but Nancy Pelosi recently spoke at a Communication Workers of America (CWA) convention and pledged continued support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

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EFCA actually passed the House during the previous session of Congress. It has not been brought up for a vote this term, most likely because they are waiting on the Senate. In Pelosi’s House, there is no doubt the bill could be passed in a matter of minutes.

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House Democrat Denies Lame-Duck Plans

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a top Democrat in the House, said the party does not have any plans to take a look into big issues during the time that is known as the ‘lame-duck’ session of Congress, after the November elections. One of the issues long to be thought of at the top of that list included the Employee Free Choice Act, which surprisingly just hasn’t seen the light of day in Congress- much to the chagrin of national labor unions who strongly backed (and financially supported) Barack Obama thinking EFCA’s passage would come within the first 100 days of this Congress. That obviously hasn’t happened.

As a result, Democrats who are pushing this legislation and their allies in labor have gone back to the drawing board knowing the 2010 elections (and their expected outcome) may spell the end of EFCA talks for some time. Earlier in the summer, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) openly floated the idea of passing bills like EFCA after the November election; other Democrats have warmed to that idea. This includes Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who recently told a gathering, “We’re going to have to have a lame-duck session, so we’re not giving up.” Obviously, Harkin and Reid and the Senate and Van Hollen in the House are now contradicting one another. Although Van Hollen’s statements may have been more to calm down fear than anything else as Republicans have played this up calling on Democrats to denounce any such plans.

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An EFCA Revival?

There are a couple interesting stories from the past week where supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act make it known that the legislation will not go down without a fight.

In commemorating the 75th anniversary of the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis used the moment to essentially reinforce the administration’s belief that unions strengthen the economy, while once again committing their support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Here is what she said about EFCA:

In order to rebuild the middle class today, we need to level the playing field for all working people and update our labor laws to fit the 21st century workplace. That’s why the President and I support the Employee Free Choice Act – which would update the NLRA so workers can form unions if they choose to without fear or pressure.

I suppose she figures her audience at the Huffington Post knows what EFCA is but she declines to say what it does or how it does it. She made the argument about “leveling the playing field” many times in the column, but never mentioned anything about secret ballots, card check, etc. which has been the strategy of supporters for some time.

And in a Wall Street Journal article from earlier this morning they talked about the possibility that Democrats will try to pass major, often controversial legislation, during the lame duck session of Congress. One of those bills that continues to get brought up is EFCA. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is in favor of that, and in the House one Democrat spoke frankly about the possibility. When it comes to EFCA, “the lame duck would be the last chance, quite honestly, for the foreseeable future,” noted Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).

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Looking At The New Union Election Statistics

About a week ago, the Bureau of Labor Statics released the latest numbers on union elections, along with a 13 year trend. Here are the numbers for 2009: there were 1,304 elections for union representation held with the union winning 864 of them. That represents a 66.3 percent win total, the highest winning percentage since World War II probably- and slightly higher than last years 64.7 percent.

It appears that that is the new labor strategy. Don’t bother holding the election unless it looks pretty evident the union will win. Looking back over the past 13 years, the union winning percentage has increased steadily from 50.8 percent in 1997 to where it is today. While that may make for good PR, it has not done much to increase union numbers.

In 1997, there were a total of 3,261 elections held- the union won about half- with a little more than 90,000 employees joining the union (out of about 224,000 who cast ballots). In the past year, just 44,033 new employees were involved in petitions won by the union- down about 50 percent from 13 years ago. At the same time, only 69,832 employees were even eligible to vote- down a remarkable 70 percent from 1997.

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Harkin Says That EFCA Could Come To Life During Lame-Duck Session of Congress

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), probably the biggest proponent of the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate, remains optimistic that the labor organizing bill can still pass during this session of Congress.

On Thursday, Harkin appeared on the Bill Press radio show and hinted at what strategies they may follow to pass the bill before a new, most likely less union-friendly Congress is sworn in in January. Harkin said they may try to pass “key parts” of the bill individually if they can’t move it in its entirety. He also stated that they may try to pass the bill during the lame-duck session. That refers to the period of Congress after the November elections, but before the new session begins in January. To pass anything that controversial would be quite a task as it rarely happens.

But when you think about it, there are some fence-sitters or those who outright oppose it right now that look unlikely to win re-election in November (or have already lost their primary) and obviously would not have to answer to any constituents. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who once opposed the bill but now favors a compromise version, has already lost his primary and could potentially move to support every part of the bill. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) barley survived a challenge in her primary (her challenger was mainly funded by unions), but has little chance of winning re-election in November. She initially supported EFCA, but backed off over the past year as she geared up for re-election. Would they be inclined to support this in November or December?

Harkin’s final message was simply: “To those who think it’s dead, I say think again.”

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