Bailout Money Fighting the Employee Free Choice Act?
The $700 billion bank bailout was supposed to stabilize banks and get them lending again. However, some of the recipients seem more interested in rallying big business against the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would make it easier for workers to unionize.
Sam Stein reports in The Huffington Post:
“„Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community’s top legislative priority.
“„Participants on the October 17 call — including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG — were urged to persuade their clients to send “large contributions” to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.
Talk about chutzpah. Imagine you’re an AIG customer. How would you feel if AIG hit you up for money to fight some labor law? It turns out that the U.S. taxpayer is in a similar position. Having recently hit the U.S. taxpayer up for billions of dollars, AIG turned its attention to politicking, not insurance.
Separately, good government groups are calling for a congressional investigation to find out whether bailout money ended up in the coffers of any political organizations.
