BILL HALTER’S POSITION ON CARD CHECK STILL A WELL-GUARDED SECRET FROM ARKANSAS VOTERS

Bill told the AFL-CIO…Why won’t he tell us?

Even though he promises transparency, Bill Halter has consistently refused to tell Arkansas voters where he stands on the Employee Free Choice Act, no less than 23 times in fact. The Employee Free Choice Act is the issue that drew D.C. unions into the Arkansas Senate race, yet Bill refuses to divulge what he promised them in return for their overwhelming support…more than $5 million in campaign and independent expenditures so far. And after refusing to answer, he now dismisses it as a “non-issue.” [Read more here] Senator Lincoln has shown that she can make the tough choices when it comes to standing up for Arkansas. Can Bill Halter answer a simple question?

Bill Halter Has Refused to Reveal His Position on the Employee Free Choice Act No Fewer Than 23 Times Since Filing to Run for U.S. Senate:

1. Following the final Senate Democratic Primary Debate, when asked by Jason Tolbert about his position on the Employee Free Choice Act, Halter interrupted and said, “Jason, I’m just going to cut you off, I gave you the answer there today, I know that Republican groups and others would love to keep focused on this non-issue. I’m focused on the issues that are important to Arkansans, I’m focused on creating jobs, focused on improving education, focused on taking on special interest groups in Washington. I appreciate what you do, but the fact is, everybody here knows that you have a particular ideological leaning. I doubt very much that you’re going to be voting in the Democratic primary…But here’s the point, there are issues that are on the minds of Arkansans. I will tell you that in countless town hall meetings, countless town hall meetings, that issue has never been brought up, not once.” [Tolbert Report, 5/14/2010]

2. At the Political Animals-Clinton School Debate, when asked by Steve Barnes, “Can you give a definitive up-or-down answer to card check?,” Halter replied, “Definitively, card check is dead in the United States Senate. It’s not going anywhere, labor leadership is not pushing for it…” [Political Animals Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 5/14/2010]

3. When pressed by Barnes, who said, “Before it died, can you, would you have supported it?,” Halter said, “I will tell you that here’s what I’m in favor of: I am in favor of streamlined Democratic secret ballot elections, I am in favor of them occurring more rapidly so there’s less opportunity to coerce workers, I’m in favor of increased penalties on either side if there’s an attempt to coerce workers…” [Political Animals Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 5/14/2010]

4. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Halter “refused to say whether he would vote for or against the Employee Free Choice Act.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5/11/2010]

5. According to the Washington Post, “Asked about it [Employee Free Choice Act] in an interview, Halter did not say how he would vote because the bill ‘is no longer being discussed.’” [Washington Post, 5/10/2010]

6. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, when informed of Sen. Pryor’s assertion that the Employee Free Choice Act and the card check position are not “off the table,” Halter’s “campaign responded that Halter stands by his previous statement” and pointed to a column by John Brummett. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5/6/2010]

7. At a Halter town hall meeting in Conway, when asked about his position on card check, Halter answered, “Folks have asked about the Employee Free Choice Act, and I’ve talked with labor leaders, I’ve talked with business leaders, and the fact is the provision, the majority check-off provision…the labor leaders that I’ve spoken with understand that that is no longer operative, they don’t have the votes to get that.” [Halter Conway Town Hall, 4/27/2010]

8. At the second debate, when challenged by Sen. Lincoln to reveal his position on Employee Free Choice to the voters of Arkansas, Halter said, “The fact is I’ve said very clearly, said clearly to Bill Simmons just now and I’ll say it again, there’s a compromise that is being discussed by a number of Senators, in which these very principles will be put into place…” [Associated Press Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 4/24/2010]

9. Later in the debate, when asked if card check were “back on the table,” would he support it, Halter answered, “Card check’s not going to be brought back on the table. It’s really just that simple. You can talk to labor leaders and they will tell you that the card check provision is not something that can get passed. It’s not something that can get passed in the current Senate, it’s not something that will get passed in the likely next Senate.” [Associated Press Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 4/24/2010]

10. When asked again, “well, would you support it in principle,” Halter pivoted and said, “The principles that I support Janie, are the ones I outlined: speedier elections, putting more rigorous enforcement on either side if they try to inhibit those free elections…” [Associated Press Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 4/24/2010]

11. At the first Democratic Senate Primary Debate, when asked by KATV’s Jessica Dean, “The Employee Free Choice Act or card check, would make it easier for unions to organize. Do you agree with this or support it, yes or no?” Halter responded, “Well, in fact, the Employee Free Choice Act, or card check, as it has been called, is really no longer operative. If you talk to labor leaders or management leaders, that’s no longer on the table…” [KATV Democratic Senate Primary Debate, 4/23/2010]

12. Halter did not fill out a questionnaire from the Arkansas group, the Coalition for Arkansas Jobs, which asked about candidates position on the Employee Free Choice Act, and card check specifically. [Blake’s Think Tank, 4/19/2010]

13. Asked about the Employee Free Choice Act at a Texarkana town hall, Halter “said he had not seen a compromised legislation draft and it’s not been released.” He said, “I agree with the principles being discussed. It would impose sanctions if it got in the way of a Democratic vote or undue influence.” [Texarkana Gazette, 4/14/2010]

14. At a Halter town hall meeting in El Dorado, when asked about his position on card check, Halter replied, “I’ve talked with a number of folks in labor and in business and the initial card check legislation that you’re, the Employee Free Choice Act, that legislation is, the discussions that are going on about that now are about a compromise. And the card check part of it, the check-off part, is now no longer operative.” [Halter El Dorado Town Hall, 4/8/2010]

15. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Halter “declined to say where he stands on the pending legislation. He said he would favor a compromise that ‘streamlines the [union] election process and imposes additional penalties on either side if they attempt to get in the way of a democratic election.’” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/28/2010]

16. At a Halter town hall meeting in Jonesboro, when asked “What I want to ask about is the card check, what is your stand on that?” Halter responded, “It’s important for everybody to know that the card check legislation that was put forward, the just check a box provision, has been put aside…” [Halter Jonesboro Town Hall, 3/24/2010]

17. During an appearance on Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC, when asked by the host, “Would you support card check, the Employee Free Choice Act, to make it easier for people to join unions?” Halter responded, “…I’ve talked to labor leaders. I’ve talked to business leaders. I’ve talked to folks on all sides of this particular issue. And the fact is that the debate and the discussion is moving beyond the initial card-check legislation. What is being discussed now, and what’s being discussed as a compromise, is a compromise bill that would allow for faster elections. It would put some tighter restrictions upon the ability to harass or intimidate workers as they make a decision whether or not to collectively bargain, and they would do that through the normal democratic process. I’m looking forward to seeing the specific language emerge. But I will tell you that those two concepts I do support.” [Maddow, 3/3/2010]

18. When asked by reporters on Filing Day where he stands on card check, Halter responded, “On what’s been referred to as card check, what’s happening now in the Senate is that the card check bill as initially drafted has been moved away from by the advocates of card check. They have negotiations and discussions on now about crafting a compromise. I have not seen that bill, but I have heard about portions of it, but that bill has not yet been released…” [Press Gaggle on Filing Day, 3/2/2010]

19. According to CQ Politics, when asked about card check, “Halter said it wouldn’t be productive to discuss the version of the legislation that caused so much tension between Lincoln and labor unions last year.” He said, “As you know, the the previous legislation that was labeled as ‘card check,’ it’s no longer on the table…The negotiations now have moved beyond that and have moved into a discussion of can we make elections occur more rapidly and how can we ensure that workers have a process where they have the ability to decide collectively for themselves how they want to be represented in negotiations.” [CQ Politics, 3/2/2010]

20. Asked by Ed Schultz if he could “unequivocally” support the Employee Free Choice Act, Halter said, “Well, I can tell you this, Ed. I’ve talked with business leaders and labor leaders. The debate has now moved beyond the initial card-check legislation. There’s now conversations and discussions going on to strengthen worker protections, to speed up democratic elections for representation. I’ve spoken with labor leaders about that. And I am supportive of their efforts to do that, because I think that it is in the context of the history that we’ve had for decades of allowing workers to decide how they’re going to represent themselves in negotiations… I mean, I’ve had discussions with labor and business leaders, and they have moved away from the initial card-check bill. But they’re moving toward something that I think you can fashion a compromise around, and it’s something that, you know, people of good will on both sides of this issue can come together around.” [“Ed Show,” MSNBC, 3/2/2010]

21. According to an interview with liberal blog Talking Points Memo, Halter was “inclined to support” the previous card check bill that came before the Senate, but, “The fact is, the discussions have moved beyond that…The final language hasn’t emerged yet…but the fact is, we do need to provide working men and women with the ability to come together and decide whether or not they want to be represented in a union.” Halter “said that he supports current union-backed efforts to revise EFCA to make it easier for workers to unionize by speeding up the elections process and making it tougher for employers to stand in the way.” [Talking Points Memo, 3/2/2010]

22. According to Roll Call,“Halter said it wouldn’t be productive to discuss the version of the bill that caused so much tension between Lincoln and labor unions last year.” He said, “As you know, the previous legislation that was labeled as ‘card check,’ it’s no longer on the table…The negotiations have moved beyond that and have moved into a discussion of can we make elections occur more rapidly and how can we ensure that workers have a process where they have the ability to decide collectively for themselves how they want to be represented in negotiations … I want people to be able to come together and discuss straightforward, common-sense changes to labor law that are going to be fair to working men and women and their ability to decide how they would like to collectively negotiate.” [Roll Call, 3/2/2010]

23. Halter has still not released his answers to the AFL-CIO Candidate Questionnaire. Sen. Lincoln’s responses have been public since March.

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