After much debate the past several weeks about proposed “Fair Share” legislation, things have been relatively quiet the past week or so. According to Iowa House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, there are some Democrat Representatives who claim that this issue is “off the table” for at least the rest of the year. Rants predicts that ultimately the “Fair Share” proposal will be modified by Democrat supporters to include only public employees in an effort to get this piece of legislation passed. You can read Rep. Rant's entire column on the Krusty Konservative blog by clicking here.
On the topic of labor issues, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this past week (HR 800) that would allow a union to establish itself in a workplace after receiving a simple majority of workers declaring their support. Our 1st Congressional District Representative Bruce Braley voted for this measure, while Iowa's two Republican Representatives, Tom Latham and Steve King, voted against this bill. A Republican amendment to this bill was shot down, which proposed to ban union “salting”. “Salting” is a practice used frequently by unions in which a union supporter joins a company payroll in attempt to organize a union. If they happen to fail, these people make allegations of unfair labor practices against said company. Again, Bruce Braley voted against this practice with our Republican Representatives from Iowa voting in favor of this amendment. Bill HR 800 will now be sent to the U.S. Senate.
The South Carolina Straw Poll was held this past week. Duncan Hunter surprised many by taking second place behind Rudy Giuliani. Although the true value of a Straw Poll this far from the Primaries is debatable, this will no doubt be viewed as a huge positive for Hunter's campaign.
-Adam Reuter
