Search
Advertisement

Local News

Most Popular New Video

Caught On Tape: Deer-Car Crash More
| Digg | Facebook | Stumble It! | Delicious del.icio.us | Fark
E-mail | Print
Jul 17, 2008 5:52 pm US/Central

Documents: Coleman Supported Idea Decried In Ad

Reporting
Pat Kessler
(WCCO) There's new information Thursday about those controversial pro-business ads supporting Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Documents obtained by WCCO-TV show that Coleman once supported the bill that makes it easier for unions to organize in the workplace.

It's hard to miss the pro-business ad featuring the Sopranos-like union boss who supports Al Franken. It's an ad that's got Democrats crying 'foul'.

The bill -- making it easier to organize unions -- does not eliminate the secret ballot and Wednesday Democratss harshly denounced Coleman for saying it does.

"Don't make any mistake. It's not 'all but called him a liar'. I am calling him a liar,'" said Brian Melendez of the Minnesota DFL Party at a news conference Wednesday.

Now, it turns out that Coleman once supported the idea.

As the Republican Mayor of St. Paul, Coleman signed a unanimous city council resolution asking businesses to stay out of union elections and allow unions to form by signing union cards.

The Coleman campaign said signing a resolution doesn't mean Coleman supported putting it in federal law.

"The issue is whether or not workers have the right to organize and he's always been a strong supporter of that. He doesn't support the federal legislation -- the card check legislation," said Cullen Sheehan, Coleman's Campaign Manager.

Al Franken, who is caricatured in the pro-business ad, is unconvinced.

"He simply is shameless and he will say whatever he thinks people want to hear at the time and he doesn't believe it. He will say anything. You can't trust the man," said Franken.

The pro-business group running the ads against Franken is called The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. It is spending between $10 and $20 million in five states, including Minnesota, to kill the union organizing bill.

The Coleman campaign said it has no affiliation.

So why are business groups willing to spend so much money on an ad to kill the bill?

Businesses say the bill takes away management's right to call a secret union ballot, not labor's.

Unions say -- and Coleman once agreed -- that workers are sometimes intimidated by bosses not to join unions.

Business said if the bill passes there will be the opposite problem, and that unions will pressure workers to join.


(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

From Our Partners

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Local News

Top News Stories

Advertisement

© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.