Many Republican lawmakers oppose the bill the Employee Free Choice Act www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org , because it would enable unions to add millions of workers over the next few years and would largely eliminate use of the secret ballot (Which Is Not True Posted by Poster) to determine whether workers want a union. The bill would give employees at a workplace the right to gain union recognition as soon as a majority of them sign cards saying they want to join a specific union.

Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, asked Ms. Solis why she supported a bill that would bypass secret ballots in unionization elections when she, as a California legislator, had backed a bill that called for using secret ballots to determine whether employees at a workplace favored flextime arrangements.

But Ms. Solis declined to discuss that seeming contradiction – or her views of the Employee Free Choice Act, which she acknowledged she has long supported.

“My position as nominee by President-elect Obama to serve as Secretary of Labor doesn’t in my opinion afford me the ability to provide you with an opinion at this time,” she said.

Ms. Solis took pains to avoid any contention or debate with any members of the labor committee. With several Republicans praising her and Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, saying he would vote to confirm her, her confirmation seemed assured.

The committee’s chairman, Edward M. Kennedy, ran the hearing with a crisp manner and strong voice, repeatedly praising Ms. Solis, saying she was an excellent choice at a time that unemployment is soaring and millions of workers are hurting.

“We need leaders who understand what working families are facing in today’s economy,” Mr. Kennedy said. “I believe that Hilda Solis is just such a leader. She comes from a working family. Her parents sacrificed to give her greater opportunity. Throughout her career, Hilda has given back to her community and to her nation. She has fought for working families all her life.”

Ms. Solis talked abut her humble roots and her ability to identify with struggling workers. Her father, an immigrant from Mexico, worked at a battery recycling plant in California, while her mother, an immigrant from Nicaragua, worked at a toy factory.

While Republicans sought to trip her up over the Employee Free Choice Act, three Democratic Senators — Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — invited her to praise labor unions for how they have helped lift wages and preserve the middle class.

But Ms. Solis largely declined to utter any kind words about unions, except to say that her family benefited from her father’s membership in the Teamsters – he was a union shop steward.

“His membership in the union helped my family have health benefits even when times were tough,” she said.

Mr. Enzi asked Ms. Solis whether she would resign from the board of directors of a pro-union group, American Rights at Work, that has frequently attacked the Bush administration and many employers who are seen as anti-union. She said she probably would.

“We need to reject the ‘us versus them’ mentality that has characterized labor management relations for too long,” Mr. Enzi said.

Mr. Hatch also questioned her about the Employee Free Choice Act. He noted that even George McGovern, the former Democratic presidential candidate, attacked the bill. Mr. Hatch criticized in particular a provision that would provide for federal arbitrators to settle contract disputes if a new union at a workplace does not reach a contract within 120 days of winning recognition.

“Mandatory government arbitration that sets conditions of employment and wages for not only the companies but the unions is something that’s not only dangerous, but it’s a terrible provision,” Mr. Hatch said.

After responding that she and Mr. Obama had supported the act, Ms. Solis said, “My priorities, if I’m confirmed, will be first and foremost to make sure we attend to the goals of the Department of Labor and see that we have fair wages, to see that there is safety and protection and hopefully people can aspire to have a good-paying job in this country.”

www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org

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