By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Parting ways over card check and other issues, the Arkansas AFL-CIO dropped its longtime support of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln today and endorsed her Democratic primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
The federation of trade unions also endorsed state Sen. Joyce Elliott in her bid for the Democratic nomination for the 2nd District congressional seat.
AFL-CIO President Alan Hughes said the federation’s executive board voted to back Halter after a lengthy discussion about Lincoln’s position on the Employee Free Choice Act, health care reform legislation, trade issues and the appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.
“We believe that Bill Halter will listen to Arkansas’ working families and support their issues in Washington as he has done as lieutenant governor of Arkansas,” Hughes said in an e-mail to news organizations.
Halter said he was honored to receive the Arkansas federation’s endorsement.
“We share a common belief that Washington is too focused on what is best for Wall Street and not Main Street,” he said.
Lincoln was a supporter of the union-backed measure to make it easier for workers to organize until last summer. Bracing for a tough re-election fight, she dropped her support for card check and said the measure should not even come up for a vote.
The senator also opposed a public option for health insurance, which the AFL-CIO supported, and last month she joined a Republican filibuster to block the nomination of Becker, labor’s choice, to the NLRB.
“I am disappointed by this decision of the executive committee, but I also know that the individual working men and women of Arkansas make their own decisions about who represents them in the United States Senate,” Lincoln said today. “This election will be about jobs and the economy, and when more than 97 percent of Arkansas workers are employed by small businesses, I make sure I am fighting for them every day here at home and in Washington.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., today defended Lincoln’s record on labor issues, saying Lincoln has voted with unions about 80 percent of the time.
“Unfortunately, in today’s political world — and this happens on the left, on the right and from all other directions — there are these groups and these special interests that, they’re 100-percenters. They’re kind of saying, ‘Hey, if you’re not with me 100 percent of the time, I’m going to try to find somebody to beat you,’” he said.
Yesterday, Halter told reporters he has not read the compromise legislation on card check currently in the works, but he said he supports some provisions he has heard are in it, including accelerated union elections and protections for workers against undue pressure.
Halter has a history with the AFL-CIO. In 2007, when he began spearheading the drive for a constitutional amendment to create a state lottery to fund college scholarships, the union was the first organization to endorse the proposal. Nearly two-thirds of voters approved the measure in the 2008 general election.
Lottery tickets went on sale last September and the first awards will be available this fall — $5,000 for eligible students attending four-year colleges and $2,500 for those attending two-year schools.
Elliott, D-Little Rock, welcomed the AFL-CIO’s endorsement today.
“It means that I have the support of working families, which I definitely will need,” she said.
Elliott said the Employee Free Choice Act “is something that can be good for both employers and employees if we will quiet our voices and talk about it with a balanced approach.” She said she could not name a provision she supports because she did not know what the compromise legislation would include.
Elliott is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District congressional race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock. Democrats David Boling and John Adams and Republican Tim Griffin have also filed for the office.
State House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, and Republican Scott Wallace have also said they will seek the 2nd District seat.
