The next big labor brawl: Unions ramping up for showdown over FAA

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-next-big-labor-brawl/2011/03/03/gIQAdKXPgJ_blog.html

Posted at 01:41 PM ET, 08/26/2011

By Greg Sargent

I’m not sure whether people appreciate how big a deal this is going to be, but another major battle over union organizing is looming next month — and as Rick Perry would put it, the fight’s going to get “pretty ugly.”

I’m talking about the battle over the long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which was temporarily settled earlier this month but will certainly flare up again in September — with a GOP provision to make it harder to organize airline and railway workers at the center of the fight.

I’m told that the Communications Workers of America — the lead union in this battle — is ramping up a preemptive organizing push in the days and weeks ahead, a sign of how urgently labor wants to win this fight.

The new campaign includes the launch of a new Web site, MicaWatch.com, which will document the central role in this battle being played by the Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. John Mica of Florida. Mica took a ton of criticism during the previous standoff over reauthorization that temporarily shut down the FAA. Mica tried to get the FAA reauthorization bill to overturn a decision by the National Mediation Board to scrap a rule that had made it harder for airline and railway workers to organize by counting absentee worker votes as No votes.

FULL story at link.