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Sad News...
North Carolina's swine industry and veterinary medical professionals are mourning the loss of two leaders. Dr. William Plummer of Goldsboro and Dr. Monte McCaw of Raleigh both passed away Saturday.
Dr. McCaw was a 1980 Iowa State DVM graduate and completed his PhD at the University of Minnesota in 1989. He was originally appointed at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine as a visiting assistant professor in swine medicine in 1988. Dr. McCaw was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1995. Monte was considered a leader in his scholarly area of porcine virology and immunology and a committed and talented teacher.
A native of Hoke County, Dr. Plummer got his doctor of veterinary medicine degree Auburn University in 1950 and set up a small animal practice in Goldsboro. He practiced veterinary medicine in Goldsboro for 59 years and was employed as a consultant by Goldsboro Milling Company at the time of his passing. He was a member of the NC Veterinary Medical Association, and past president, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Practitioners. Dr. Plummer received the Distinguished Veterinarian of the Year in 1974 and 1999 from the NC Veterinary Medical Association and was named to the Wayne County Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1989. He also received the NC Pork Council Hall of Fame Award in 2007.
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 Card Check Update The landscape may have changed in the US Senate regarding the Employees Free Choice Act otherwise known as the "Card Check Bill."
Last week, Organized Labor's main Republican target in the United States Senate - Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) came out and said he would oppose Card Check meaning Organized Labor will have a tough time getting to the necessary sixty votes to get the bill to the Senate Floor. Many are saying that this could force Organized Labor to go ahead and focus on the 2010 Elections to try and get to 62 or 63 Democrats and a filibuster-proof United States Senate.
Below are the comments Sen. Specter made on the floor of the US Senate.
Also last week, the Greensboro News and Record published an editorial opposing "Card Check." You can find a link to that editorial here.
Senator Specter Speaks on Employee Free Choice Act/Card Check
WashingtonD.C.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 -
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today spoke on the Senate floor concerning the Employee Free Choice Act/Card Check.
Senator Specter's full floor statement, including the appendix, follows:
I have sought recognition to state my position on a bill known as the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card check. My vote on this bill is very difficult for many reasons. First, on the merits, it is a close call and has been the most heavily lobbied issue I can recall. Second, it is a very emotional issue with Labor looking to this legislation to reverse the steep decline in union membership and business expressing great concern about added costs which would drive more companies out of business or overseas. Perhaps, most of all, it is very hard to disappoint many friends who have supported me over the years, on either side, who are urging me to vote their way.
In voting for cloture - that, is to cut off debate - in June 2007, I emphasized in my floor statement and in a law review article that I was not supporting the bill on the merits, but only to take up the issue of labor law reform. Hearings had shown that the NLRB was dysfunctional and badly politicized. When Republicans controlled the Board, the decisions were for business. With Democrats in control, the decisions were for labor. Some cases took as long as eleven years to decide. The remedies were ineffective.
Regrettably, there has been widespread intimidation on both sides. Testimony shows union officials visit workers' homes with strong-arm tactics and refuse to leave until cards are signed. Similarly, employees have complained about being captives in employers' meetings with threats of being fired and other strong-arm tactics.
On the merits, the issue which has emerged at the top of the list for me is the elimination of the secret ballot which is the cornerstone of how contests are decided in a democratic society. The bill's requirement for compulsory arbitration if an agreement is not reached within 120 days may subject the employer to a deal he or she cannot live with. Such arbitration runs contrary to the basic tenet of the Wagner Act for collective bargaining which makes the employer liable only for a deal he or she agrees to. The arbitration provision could be substantially improved by the last best offer procedure which would limit the arbitrator's discretion and prompt the parties to move to more reasonable positions.
In seeking more union membership and negotiating leverage, Labor has a valid point that they have suffered greatly from outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries and losses in pension and health benefits. President Obama has pressed Labor's argument that the middle class needs to be strengthened through more power to unions in their negotiations with business. The better way to expand labor's clout in collective bargaining is through amendments to the NLRA rather than on eliminating the secret ballot and mandatory arbitration. Some of the possible provisions for such remedial legislation are set forth in an appendix to this statement.
In June 2007, the vote on the Employee Free Choice was virtually monolithic: 50 Senators, Democrats, voted for cloture and 48 Republicans against. I was the only Republican to vote for cloture. The prospects for the next cloture vote are virtually the same. No Democratic Senator has spoken out against cloture. Republican Senators are outspoken in favor of a filibuster. With the prospects of a Democratic win in Minnesota, yet uncertain, it appears that 59 Democrats will vote to proceed with 40 Republicans in opposition. If so, the decisive vote would be mine. In a highly polarized Senate, many decisive votes are left to a small group who are willing to listen, reject ideological dogmatism, disagree with the party line and make an independent judgment. It is an anguishing position, but we play the cards we are dealt.
The emphasis on bipartisanship is, I think, misplaced. There is no special virtue in having some Republicans and some Democrats take similar positions. The desired value, really, is independent thought and an objective judgment. It obviously can't be that all Democrats come to one conclusion and all Republicans come to the opposite conclusion by expressing their individual objective judgments. Senators' sentiments expressed in the cloakroom frequently differ dramatically from their votes in the well of the Senate. The nation would be better served, in my opinion, with public policy determined by independent, objective legislators' judgments.
The problems of the recession make this a particularly bad time to enact Employees Free Choice legislation. Employers understandably complain that adding a burden would result in further job losses. If efforts are unsuccessful to give Labor sufficient bargaining power through amendments to the NLRA, then I would be willing to reconsider Employees' Free Choice legislation when the economy returns to normalcy.
I am announcing my decision now because I have consulted with a very large number of interested parties on both sides and I have made up my mind. Knowing that I will not support cloture on this bill, Senators may choose to move on and amend the NRLA as I have suggested or otherwise. This announcement should end the rumor mill that I have made some deal for my political advantage. I have not traded my vote in the past and I would not do so now.
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News from WashingtonFind out what's going on in Washington that affects the pork industry. Click here to keep up to date on NPPC's press releases. |
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2009 NCPC Student Internship Program
The North Carolina Pork Council has implemented a program to sponsor student internships.
To learn more and to download a brochure and application click here.
Applications must be received by April 15, 2009.
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