Inside
Meeting
Notices
See
Page 4
Volume 114
Number 3
February 1, 2013
Portland, Oregon
Filibuster reform effort fails
‘For members of our union ... the failure to enact substantial reform of the rules almost
guarantees that for two more years, there will not be effective debate, discussion or
voting on even the critical issues the Obama Administration has outlined.’
L ARRY C OHEN , P RESIDENT
C OMMUNICATIONS W ORKERS OF A MERICA
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — A
determined effort to curb abuses of the
Senate filibuster failed on Jan. 25 when
the Senate’s two party leaders an-
nounced a “compromise” resolution
that was enacted by lawmakers.
The agreement between Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Mi-
nority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-
Ky.) does streamline some filibuster
rules by limiting filibusters on what is
known as the “motion to proceed.” Re-
publicans have used such filibusters not
to block a bill from a vote but simply to
prevent debate on legislation from be-
ginning. The new rules also limit debate
on some judicial and federal nomina-
tions and make some other changes.
But the compromise resolution does
nothing to change the use of the secret,
silent filibuster, and it still will take 60
votes to invoke cloture (stop debate).
A record 391 filibusters were called
in the 112th Congress as minority Re-
publicans did everything possible to
block popular progressive bills — even
ones with majority support — from be-
coming law. Most of the legislation or-
ganized labor has fought for to restore
collective bargaining rights and to cre-
ate jobs — from the Employee Free
Choice Act, to the Bring Jobs Home
Act, the American Jobs Act, and many
more — never received a Senate floor
vote due to threat of a filibuster. Had
any of those bills reached the floor they
would have passed.
“For members of our union, and pro-
gressives throughout the nation, the fail-
ure to enact substantial reform of the
senate rules almost guarantees that for
two more years, there will not be effec-
tive debate, discussion or voting on
even the critical issues that the Obama
Administration has outlined,” said
Larry Cohen, president of Communica-
tions Workers of America (CWA),
which was part of a 51-group coalition
that promoted filibuster reform.
The “Fix the Senate Now” coalition
sent 2.5 million e-mails to lawmakers,
U.S. S ENATE M AJORITY L EADER H ARRY R EID
delivered petitions with a million
names, and added 100,000 phone calls,
jamming the U.S. Capitol switchboard
on numerous occasions.
Leading the charge for filibuster re-
form in the Senate were Democrats Jeff
Merkley of Oregon, Tom Udall of New
Mexico, and Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Their reform package — which was
supported by an overwhelming major-
ity of voters, according to national
polling — called for the elimination of
the silent filibuster, instead requiring ob-
structing senators to stay on the floor
and talk about why they are blocking
legislation or a nominee. It also sought
to require 41 senators to vote to con-
tinue debate rather than force 60 sena-
tors to vote to end debate.
(Turn to Page 6)
Union members down to 11.3 percent of U.S. workforce
Washington is nation’s
fourth most unionized,
and Oregon is #9
U.S. union membership dropped once again in
2012, both as a percent of the workforce and in ab-
solute numbers. According to the latest annual re-
port from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS), 11.3 percent of wage
and salary workers were members of a union in
2012 — down from 11.8 percent in 2011. Union
members were 20.1 percent of the workforce in
1983, the first year for which comparable data are
available, and the percentage has declined just
about every year since 2000.
The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s
Current Population Survey. The survey found that
there were 14,366,000 union members nationwide
in 2012 (down from 14,764,000 the year before).
Of the new total, roughly 7.3 million public sector
workers were union members, compared with 7.0
million private sector workers.
Public sector workers were five times more
likely to be unionized (35.9 percent) than private
sector workers (6.6 percent.) And within the pub-
lic sector, local government workers had the high-
est unionization rate, 41.7 percent. That includes
workers in heavily unionized occupations such as
teachers, police officers, and firefighters. Highly
unionized private-sector industries included trans-
portation and utilities (20.6 percent) and construc-
tion (13.2 percent).
In a prepared statement, AFL-CIO President
Richard Trumka said, “working women and men
urgently need a voice on the job today, but the sad
truth is it has become more difficult for them to
have one,” as the data show.
“Our still-struggling economy, weak laws and
political — as well as ideological — assaults have
taken a toll on union membership, and in the
process have also imperiled economic security and
good, middle-class jobs,” he said.
BLS analyst Jim Walker told Press Associates
Union News Service the most definite thing that
can be drawn from the numbers is the long-term
trend of declining union density in the U.S.
Overall, Walker added, the decline in union
density reflects the changing nature of the econ-
omy. He noted the survey that produces the union
data also generates the monthly employment and
jobless numbers. It has shown a consistent long-
term shift away from construction and manufac-
turing to service jobs, many in less-union-dense
industries, such as finance, insurance and real es-
tate (1.9 percent unionized).
Other findings:
• Black workers (13.4 percent) were more likely
to be union members than white (11.1 percent),
Asian (9.6 percent), or Hispanic (9.8 percent)
workers.
• Union membership was highest among work-
ers ages 55 to 64 (14.9 percent), and lowest among
workers aged 16 to 24 (4.2 percent).
• Full-time workers were twice as likely to be
union members as part-time workers, 12.5 percent
compared with 6.0 percent.
Among the states, New York continued to be
the most heavily unionized, with 23.2 percent of
workers in a union, followed by Alaska (22.4 per-
(Turn to Page 5)