The Senate on Monday voted 60-32 on a partyline vote (eight Republicans not voting) to invoke cloture on the nomination of Patricia Smith, President Obama’s choice to become solicitor at the Department of Labor.  Smith drew opposition from Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), the ranking Republican on the Senate HELP Committee, because of misstatements about her record as New York Commissioner of Labor about a wage compliance program that, he contends, sidled up too closely to the labor unions. Enzi outlines his opposition starting on Page S376 of The Congressional Record, and he has posted additional documentation on the committee’s website.

The political maneuvering is interesting. The partyline vote enabled Senate Democrats to move Smith’s nomination ahead, and was possible because of the vote of interim Sen. Paul Kirk (D-MA). His Republican replacement, Senator-elect Scott Brown will be sworn in on Feb. 11 and could have potentially stopped Smith’s confirmation by preventing the 60th vote for cloture.

We’re likely seeing a political replay with the nomination of SEIU counsel Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has scheduled Becker’s confirmation hearing for this afternoon at 4 p.m., and the committee vote to follow Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The rush is on to get his nomination to the floor before Scott Brown is sworn in as Senator.

The National Association of Manufacturers and other major trade associations joined in a letter to HELP Committee members opposing Becker’s nomination. Excerpt:

Mr. Becker’s unorthodox views have been demonstrated through his previous written commentary of the National Labor Relations Act, the law he would be charged with interpreting and enforcing should he be confirmed. Many of his beliefs would disrupt years of established precedent and the delicate balance in current labor law. We have significant concerns with the Board’s ability to radically interpret existing labor law should Mr. Becker be confirmed.

So we expect to see the cloture vote held early next week, at the latest February 10.

For more on Becker’s nomination, see this earlier posts.

More…

• Associated Press, “Over GOP Protests, Democrats Advance Labor Nominee“
• AFL-CIO Now blog, “Senate Breaks Blockade on Labor Solicitor Nominee,” with a hyperbolic Richard Trumka endorsement.
• Guess this attorney was wrong. Weekly Standard, Jan. 16, “Kirk Can’t Vote After Tuesday.”

The Department of Labor today released its annual report on union membership. The data show that while the number of union members is dropping, so too is the proportion of union members in the workforce. The figures for private sector union membership in today’s report decreased from 7.6 percent in 2008 to 7.2 percent last year and down from 11.4 percent to 10.9 percent for the manufacturing workforce.

Is this trend one that should be countered by forcing more people into union membership? That seems to be the argument that Labor Secretary Hilda Solis derives from the new figures, in a statement calling for passage of the jobs-killing Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). She says:

As workers across the country have seen their real and nominal wages decline as a result of the recession, these numbers show a need for Congress to pass legislation to level the playing field to enable more American workers to access the benefits of union membership. This report makes clear why the administration supports the Employee Free Choice Act.

It’s clear that union leaders and their allies are frustrated with the lack of progress to enact their agenda and the fact that fewer workers are choosing to join a union. However, that’s no cause to radically overhaul our labor law system at the expense of our economy and workers’ rights.

This renewed effort by labor leaders and the Administration to enact the jobs killing card check legislation is certainly cause for concern. While this legislation could reasonably be expected to reverse the downward trend of union membership, it comes with high price tag: it would result in the loss of 600,000 jobs in the first year alone. As policymakers turn their focus to job creation efforts, it is contradictory to advocate proposals that will instead destroy jobs – and force people into union membership against their will.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis appeared Thursday on the public radio program, the Diane Rehm Show, interviewed by guest host Frank Sesno. The day’s economic news, a rise in the 3rd Quarter GDP, and unemployment were big topics.

The odd thing about the discussion was Secretary Solis’ overreliance on talking points about “green jobs,” hybrid vehicles and renewable energy. It sounded as if the Obama Administration thinks U.S. manufacturing should reorient itself to federally subsidized green jobs and nothing but.

There’s more to manufacturing!

Solis: [I] think there are going to be new opportunities too. For example, yesterday a visit I had in Las Vegas with Nevada Energy, through the smart grid we’re making moneys available, $138 million, to help jump start a new infrastructure there that will allow consumers in that state to be able to monitor and meter their use of energy, electricity, which means a great deal for Nevada because, you know, the extreme hot weather there during the summer and also right now as we get into winter, obviously cooling trends. But if people can have information to be available to know how they’re using, consuming energy and how they work to reduce those high costs themselves, that’s a big incentive for all of us.

Sesno: I want to talk more about the whole smart grid and green energy and all of that in a moment, but you mentioned Nevada. Nevada has been slammed, of course, because the property values there have just fallen through the floor, home sales have been stifled, and the tourism industry has taken a big hit because of the rest of the economy as well. So with that particular example, that money you were talking about, does that create in the short term more jobs for Nevada?

Solis: Well, it will, because there will be at least 200 jobs that will be created for individuals who’ll need to be trained in the reading of these new meters that are going to be ….

Sesno…That’s a start…

Solis …situated

Sesno: But that’s still a drop in the bucket

Solis: No. Well, it’s a start, but what happens is there’s additional retail activity that has to happen, or will happen, because people will be purchasing different pieces of equipment that you can attach to your refrigerator that will serve as a thermostat, and that will happen. There will be accountants that have to be hired. There will business managers, there will have to be warehouse people hired, people in trucking industry, they’ll have to help us transport.

We’ve transcribed more from the interview here.

Green jobs? Good. We like them. But they’re not a panacea, and judging from the examples Secretary Solis cited in the interview, the Administration seems to favor the green jobs that require heavy federal subsidies.

(Edited Saturday for grammar.)

Interesting chat yesterday on FoxNews Special Report among Fox commentators: Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, Mara Liasson, national political correspondent of National Public Radio, and Mort Kondracke, executive editor of Roll Call.

The No. 1 topic, the Employee Free Choice Act.

FRED BARNES, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Well, there was a reason for this rally today by the union people, and that’s because they have been losing ground. They need to make up for lost ground.

In the last congress, they had something like 230 cosponsors for the card check bill. This time they’re having trouble getting to 200 cosponsors in the House, even though there are more Democrats in the House than there were in the last congress.

And now you have five or six senators, most of them Democrats, who are now kind of queasy on it who weren’t before, and are talking about well, maybe there’s some alternative to it. So organized labor is trying to make up for lost ground.

There was a very interesting paper that was brought to my attention just the other day by a very, very prominent economist, who found that the higher rate of unionization is in a state — in other words, if the state has a fairly highly unionized state, the higher the unemployment rate.

The same thing happened during the New Deal, of course. It was great if you had a job, but a lot more people didn’t have jobs.

We’ll make a leap and assume Barnes is referring to “The Case Against the Employee Free Choice Act,” by University of Chicago Professor Richard Epstein. (Go here.)

The panel also talks about the difficulties Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) has encountered in being confirmed for Secretary of Labor. The Senate HELP Committee was supposed to vote her out at a 2 p.m. meeting, but the session has been proposed.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): Ah. That explains the rumors about more troubles. From USA Today, “Husband of Rep. Solis, Labor nominee, settles tax liens“

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao accurately represents the many accomplishments of the Department of Labor during her eight-year tenure in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Our Workers Deserve Secret Ballots.” Her persuasive arguments against the anti-democratic Employee Free Choice Act will be familiar to readers of this blog — see these posts — so let’s just highlight the Department’s achievements on behalf of the worker and the employer.

Today we have record-low workplace injury, illness and fatality rates. The department set new records in the number of workers recovering back wages owed to them through effectively targeted enforcement and our compliance assistance program. To meet the needs of workers in our knowledge-based economy we launched new programs to bring employers, workers, unions and educators together for new training and new career opportunities. The department also secured record monetary recoveries for workers’ pension plans.

On the regulation side, we updated old, outmoded rules. These rules were written for jobs such as “key punch operator” that aren’t relevant any more. These rules stymied productivity and made compliance nearly impossible, while doing little to protect workers.

You might have also heard about our efforts to update union financial disclosure regulations for the first time in over 40 years. Our new disclosure rules have helped rank-and-file members better understand where their dues are being spent.

This is only a partial list. The bottom line is that we have worked to be pro-worker without strangling the workplaces that employ them. And we’ve done that because to ride out tough times and stay well positioned for future growth, it is vital that the Labor Department not push regulations that impede job growth.

Congratulations to Secretary Chao and the many good people at the Department of Labor. A job well done.

Guess we’re not the only ones who saw it this way. From the Los Angeles Times, “Hilda Solis deflects Republican questions over union issues“:

Reporting from Washington — Senate Republicans spent much of this morning trying to draw Barack Obama’s choice for Labor secretary, Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte), into a fight over union issues.

But she gave them little ammunition, repeatedly refusing to express her opinion on hotly contested issues such as organizing rights. And at the end of her relatively brief confirmation hearing, Solis’ nomination did not appear to be endangered.

Pretty good account. Meanwhile, the New York Times’ version is amusingly, uh, nuanced; see “Republicans Criticize Solis’s Support for Union Bill”:

At her confirmation hearing for labor secretary on Friday, Representative Hilda Solis was challenged by several Republican senators for supporting a bitterly contested bill that would make it easier for workers to join unions.

But Ms. Solis calmly deflected those jabs and declined to discuss the bill by saying that she has not yet talked about it with President-elect Barack Obama, who co-sponsored the bill when he was in the Senate.

“Jabs?” We heard questions being asked about important matters of public policy. “Calmly deflected?” Do you mean, “Did not answer?”

So much for the media demanding accountability and transparency.

As said earlier, this kind of deflection dance is standard operating procedure. The transition team’s murder board undoubtedly prepped Rep. Solis to avoid controversy by not answering questions, offering generalities and pleasantries instead. We would have done the exact same thing in her place. The goal of the President-elect’s nominees is to be confirmed with a minimum of fuss, preventing any controversy that reflects poorly on the incoming Obama Administration. Rep. Solis did a very good job in that regard today, deflection and all.

UPDATE (4:50 p.m.): Should have also cited this passage from NYT account:

While Republicans sought to trip her up over the Employee Free Choice Act, three Democratic Senators — Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — invited her to praise labor unions for how they have helped lift wages and preserve the middle class.

“Sought to trip her up?” C’mon. Asked guestions. They asked questions.

See also this well-done account at Workforce Management, “DOL Nominee Solis Dodges Questions on Unionization Bill at Senate Hearing.”

Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) has just given her opening statement at her Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing (which is being broadcast online). A good statement, uncontroversial, a typical expression of principles and good will that you hear at confirmation hearings.

Senator Isakson (R-GA) raised the Employee Free Choice Act in his opening statement, and we expect card check to be a major issue during the questioning. Solis has been a cosponsor and strong supporter, so this editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal is well worth noting, “Secrets of Solis“:

Before she was elected to Congress in 2000, Ms. Solis was a member of the California legislature. In the late 1990s, she led a fight on behalf of organized labor to retain overtime for more than eight hours of work a day. As part of that tussle, Ms. Solis wrote legislation that set out the procedures by which companies and employees could agree to “alternative workweek schedules” that might avoid overtime pay. (As an example, a worker might choose to do his 40 hours by putting in four, 10-hour days.) The bill also set out procedures by which workers might repeal an existing alternative workweek schedule.

The details are complex, but on one point Ms. Solis’s bill is very clear: “Only secret ballots may be cast by affected employees at any election held pursuant” to these procedures. Now, this is interesting. Why secret ballots in this instance? Presumably because she didn’t want workers to feel intimidated by management into agreeing to a flexible work arrangement without overtime pay, or to be worried about retribution should they opt out of such an arrangement. Unless we’re missing something, these are the same workers who would be subject to the tender public persuasion and potential retribution of union organizers or colleagues under “card check.”

UPDATE: (10:50 a.m.): As is often the case  in confirmation hearings for potentially controversial nominees or positions,  Rep. Solis is not providing any substantive answers to probing questions. On card check and right to work she has deflected, offering the typical, “I look forward to discussing this issue with your further.” To be expected, completely understandable from the soon-to-be Obama Administration, but frustrating.

And now, Senator Barbara Milkuski (D-MD) just praised Solis’ for her restraint in answering questions.

So reports AP. Here’s her bio from the NAM’s website:

Born in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif, October 20, 1957; B.A., California Polytechnic University, Pomona, Calif., 1979; M.A., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1981; White House Office of Hispanic Affairs; analyst, Office of Management and Budget; member of the Rio Hondo, Calif., Community College board of trustees, 1985-1992; member of the California state assembly, 1992-1994; member of the California state senate, 1994-2001; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Seventh Congress (November 2000-present).

Here’s her voting record on NAM Key Votes:

110th Congress: 20 percent
109th Congress:   4 percent
108th Congress:   0 percent
107th Congress:   0 percent

Here’s the Congressional biography, from her website:

First elected in 2000, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis is serving her fourth term in Congress representing California’s 32nd Congressional District, which includes Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Rosemead, South El Monte, and West Covina and portions of Monterey Park and East Los Angeles. Solis’ priorities in Congress include expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment, and improving the lives of working families.

Solis is the first Latina to serve on the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where she is Vice Chair of the Environment and Hazardous Materials (EHM) Subcommittee and a member of the Health and Telecommunications Subcommittees. From 2003-2006, she served as the Ranking Democratic Member of the EHM Subcommittee. Solis also serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources and in March 2007 was named a member of the newly created House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Solis also serves as Co-Vice Chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She is a Senior Whip, as well as a Regional Whip for Southern California. Solis is also Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task Force on Health and the Environment, under which she spearheads annual summits across the country about racial and ethnic health disparities.

She’s certainly not one of the names that had been talked about in political and business circles. Her committees aren’t ones you normally think of as “labor” committees, either.

Oh, it goes without saying that Rep. Solis voted for the Employee Free Choice Act. Only two Democrats voted against it in the House.

UPDATE (1:40 p.m.): That completes President-elect Obama’s Cabinet appointments, doesn’t it? Very impressive, very well organized and presented.

UPDATE (1:55 p.m.): According to the AFL-CIO voting records, she voted with the pro-union point of view 24 out of 24 times, for a perfect 100 percent in 2007. Her lifetime AFL-CIO voting percentage is 97 percent.

Also, from her website, her position on labor and employment issues.

Last year the Department of Labor started developing a rule governing how the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) should be interpreted and implemented. Finally today, the Department announced their final regulation which strengthens this important law that has benefitted millions of employees. These new rules not only clear up much of the confusion that surrounded the law but defines how the families of military personnel can use the FMLA for the first time.