
Business group confuses Portlands
A non-profit group opposed to a key legislative priority for organized labor has confused Portland, Maine with Portland, Oregon.
"If Tom Allen thinks a private election is the best way to elect himself, why doesn’t he support the same system for working Oregonians?" the group writes on its Web site.
Of course, Democratic Rep. Allen is running in Maine against Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, who is seeking a third term. Oregon features its own potentially competitive Senate race.
"Just as they don’t know much about hard-working Mainers, they seem to know even less about geography," Carol Andrews, Allen's spokeswoman, said.
Tim Miller, the group's spokesman, said it was a "typo."
A posting on the Employee Freedom Action Committee's website criticizes Allen for "doing labor's dirty work" by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that the House approved last year to give employees the power to form a union through a process called "majority sign up." If a majority of employees sign a card approving a union, the employer must accept it. Current law requires a secret election.
Senate Republicans blocked a vote on the legislation by a 51-48 vote. Sens. Collins and Olympia Snowe, both Republicans, voted to continue debate on the measure.
Business groups are running television advertisements against the proposal and warning that if Democrats pick up enough seats in the November election, they will have a filibuster proof margin to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Posted at 11:47 AM
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