Campaign Advisors Debate Labor Proposals

by Sheryll Poe

No matter who wins the presidency, there will be change in the nation's labor policy, according to campaign advisors for Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. William Kilberg, an advisor to McCain, and William Samuel, an advisor to Obama, outlined the differences in their candidate's labor proposals during an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

"When I look at the proposals on Obama's Web site and the legislation he has co-sponsored, I feel like we're back in the 1970s when we had another push for labor reform," said Kilberg. He noted Obama's support of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as union card check; withholding tax breaks for employers until they meet certain conditions such as not opposing union campaign efforts and provide a certain level health care benefits; granting employees the ability to request and negotiate changes in their working conditions such as hours, schedule and even location; and requiring equal pay for unequal jobs based on "comparable worth."

Samuel countered that an Obama Administration would improve the lives of working Americans. "Declining union strength is the reason we see overall incomes declining," Samuel said. "Obama's labor policy agenda is pro-union and focuses on keeping pressure on businesses to do the right thing," that includes "sharing profits with the workers who make those profits possible."

Obama, Samuel said, would provide tax cuts for middle income families, raise the minimum wage and peg it to inflation, and expand trade adjustment assistance to counter stagnant or declining wages, increasing health insurance costs, and eroding pensions and benefits.

McCain's plan for strengthening the middle class centers on providing incentives for business and empowering workers. He would lower the corporate tax rate, make the research and development tax credit permanent, and provide tax credits for individuals to purchase health care, according to Kilberg. "Ours is a program of reform. We don't have dozens of proposals to mandate and regulate."

Kilberg and Samuel spoke as part of a packed agenda, watch the entire event here.

This "in case you missed it" post originally appeared on uschambermagazine.com