Have you noticed? Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers' welfare have a way of undermining their rights. They may begin by bullying management but wind up dictating to labor, too. And everybody else. For a European example to beware, note the sad history of the grandly named National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazis.
The "Workforce Fairness Institute" and "Center for Union Facts" both linked to the editorial approvingly and without distancing themselves from the Nazi association.
Think Progress reports:
Corporate front group tweets approvingly about editorial equating Employee Free Choice Act with Nazism.
Today, the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) -- which is a corporate front group, "founded by several longtime Republican operatives," that is lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) -- tweeted approvingly about an editorial in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that unequivocally equates EFCA with Nazism.
The editorial says that "American public opinion came to the defense of the secret ballot when it was about to be junked. It needs to stay vigilant against these sly little provisions intended to achieve the same end."
WFI's Mark McKinnon (background on ex-Bush strategist McKinnon here) has previously warned that Employee Free Choice is equatable with "tyrannies and socialism." In November 2008, the National Journal reported that WFI "has been doing grassroots work in 16 states for about six months," in opposition to EFCA. When asked by the New York Times, WFI's Mark McKinnon "would not say which companies are financing the institute, founded by several longtime Republican operatives." So although the group will not identify its funders, the National Journal has also reported that WFI is likely funded by big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
Recently, deceptive ads about the Employee Free Choice Act ran in Arkansas and Nebraska, falsely claiming that organized workers do not have a say in negotiations over their wages and benefits and implying that employers are handing out raises to their employees with the union that is standing in the way. The ads are paid for by the Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC), and EFAC, like its affiliated anti-EFCA corporate front group Center for Union Facts, is run by corporate lobbyist Rick Berman. Beginning to see the ties that bind here?Comparing those who support a workers' rights to mass murderers is beyond the pale and completely undermines the Democrat-Gazette's credibility as a legitimate news outlet. We believe such an outrageous, offensive claim by Arkansas' largest paper demands a strong rebuttal. Let the editors of the Democrat-Gazette know what you think about their Nazi comparison. Write your letter to the editor now.
