There's a new player on the business community's team in its increasingly tough battle with organized labor. The Workforce Fairness Institute was recently set up as a 501(c)(6) group with a grassroots mission to work in more than 16 states against one of the unions' top legislative goals -- the Employee Free Choice Act.
The WFI is worried that the bill, which would allow a union to be formed in a workplace without a traditional secret ballot election, will gain considerable momentum next year if the Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. "We're out there educating the public on this issue," says Katie Packer, the executive director of WFI.
-- Peter H. Stone
Packer would not identify the WFI's funders. But sources familiar with its creation speculate that such big retailers as Wal-Mart and Home Depot -- a which are high-profile opponents of EFCA -- are likely among the group's donors. One source says the WFI is trying to raise as much as $10 million for its operations.
Packer says the group has a small board that includes herself, Tom Musser, the former chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business, and Joe Scarlett, the former CEO of Tractor Supply. Packer is a partner in the Alexandria, Va. public relations firm WWP Strategies.
Comments
To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Under the Influence does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.