Legislative Updates

Report Card Time!

With the end of 2011, it's time for annual scorecards for our legislators. How did San Diego's delegation fare?

In Congress, the national AFL-CIO focused on eighteen crucial votes:

• Congressman Bob Filner proved a reliable vote, missing out on a perfect 100% record only by missing one of the eighteen.
• Congresswoman Susan Davis was 17-for-18, earning a 94% record.
• Meanwhile, local Congressmen Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter clocked in with perfect 0% scores from the AFL-CIO on the 18 targeted votes.
• Closing out the San Diego delegation, Congressman Brian Bilbray managed to get an 11% score thanks to two favorable votes.

In the State Assembly, the California Labor Federation put together comprehensive scores for all 80 members:

• San Diego Assemblyman Marty Block received a perfect 100% score for his voting record, one of just fourteen Assembly members to earn a perfect score.
• Assemblyman Ben Hueso wasn't far behind that pace with a 97% score.
• Assemblywoman Toni Atkins received a strong 93% score.
• At the other end of the spectrum, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher received just 14%.
• Even further back, Assemblyman Brian Jones earned a 7% score.
• Finally, Martin Garrick managed a 4% score.

In the State Senate, the gap between the extremes was even more stark.

• Senator Christine Kehoe received a 96% and Senator Juan Vargas received a 93%.
• Meanwhile, Senator Mark Wyland rated 4% and Senator Joel Anderson clocked a perfect 0%

Watch for an even stronger, more accountable 2012!

Employee Free Choice Act

In the coming months, the Employee Free Choice Act will again come before Congress. The Labor Council thanks Congressional Representatives Bob Filner and Susan Davis for again signing onto the bill as co-sponsors.

American Rights at Work, an organization dedicated to promoting the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain collectively, has produced two new commercials in support of the Employee Free Choice Act which will be part of a $3 million national television campaign.

These new ads serve as a reminder that in our current economic climate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class. The Employee Free Choice Act will help level the playing field for workers by making it easier for them to bargain with their employers for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. It will also help employees secure a contract in a reasonable period of time, and toughen penalties against employers who break the law.

A poll by Hart Research Associates released last week found that 73 percent of adults support passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, with 87 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents, and nearly half (48 percent) of self-identified Republicans favoring the legislation.

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