Showdown on K Street protesters in New York (showdowninamerica.org)

The union giants SEIU and AFL-CIO as well as community organizing umbrella group National People’s Action held a “Showdown on K Street,” bringing around two thousand workers and organizers to protest against big Wall Street banks, the lobbyists they have hired to attempt to water down the Senate bill and continued economic strife more generally. Indeed, the event ended up more of an expression of sustained populist anger at the sour economy and banks’ $1.4 million-a-day lobbying effort than a protest against specific practices or provisions in the bill.

It started on Sunday when more than a hundred activists protested on the front lawns of two executives: Bank of America’s Gregory Baer, the company’s counsel for regulatory policy, and Peter Scher, J.P. Morgan Chase’s executive for government relations. At Baer’s home, NPA noted that Bank of America — after requiring a $45 billion taxpayer bailout — has spent $16 million lobbying against Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) regulatory reform bill.

Adolfo Abreu, an organizer for NPA who came down for the events from his home in the Bronx, noted that Baer came home while organizers were occupying his front doorstep, with one woman describing how Bank of America continued to attempt to collect payment from her on a phone call 30 minutes after she learned of the death of her son. Abreu said that Baer “started yelling at us, like, ‘Get out of here!’”

“These banks are way too involved in the economy, and they have been way too involved in protesting this bill,” Abreu said. “We are focusing on people, not people with privilege. We need these rights.”

At 11 a.m. on Monday morning, dozens held a vocal protest outside of the downtown offices of the Podesta Group, the powerful Democratic lobbying shop headed by Tony Podesta, who worked in the Clinton administration and has earned the left’s ire for lobbying against Democratic priorities. Protesters shouted, “Tony Podesta is hurting America!”

And at noon, the protest started in full, with approximately 2,000 gathering in McPherson Square. They held bright hand-painted signs and shut down traffic, as they did when protesting on Wall Street itself last week. Joel Hershey, a middle-school science teacher in Syracuse, N.Y., took to the microphone to fire the crowd up. He said he had taught for four years, and three weeks ago heard that he “would not be going back to school” — one victim of municipal layoffs due to budget cutting. He noted that his wife and he are “just two of the 300,000 teachers that could lose their jobs in the next year….devastating news for America’s children.”

The crowd then marched to and occupied the busy intersection at 14th and K Streets — “lobbyist central,” as one SEIU volunteer put it. The protesters, soaked by pouring rain at that point, had set up a 20-foot-tall paper-and-wood pulling the marionette strings of Congress and passed around whistles and drums.

Al Marshall of Oakland, Calif., took to the loudspeaker as the protesters engaged in a “sit in.” (The actual sitting part did not happen, with the pavement soaked.) With tears rolling down his cheeks, the construction inspector explained that he had purchased a “fixer-upper” but that he and his wife had struggled to make payments to Wells Fargo after she lost her job. The bank reclaimed the home as a foreclosure after “laughing” at him when he asked for a loan modification. “There shouldn’t be a homeless person anywhere in America,” Marshall said.

Ed Whalen, a member of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local 100 in Baltimore, affiliated with the AFL-CIO said he was there to protest such “financial anarchy.”

“The downturn has affected everybody, but it has proportionately affected the construction industry and my line of work because every part of the business relies on financing,” Whalen said. “There’s no getting around it. I’m at a loss for words to described what’s wrong here.”

Later on, the protest split up with smaller groups visiting the Hill and even interrupting goings-on at local bank branches. SEIU protesters, for instance, flooded a Bank of America branch on Capitol Hill, shouting “Bank of America — Bad for America!”

Another group of 100 protesters — many part of the Alliance to Develop Power, a Massachusetts group — showed up unannounced at the Russell Senate Office Building offices of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). The protesters complained that Brown had campaigned against the Troubled Asset Relief Program and contended that he now “does big banks’ bidding in the Senate.” The protesters brought a “big tent” into the cramped space (and then asked staffers “Who’s in your big tent!”) and eventually convinced office members to arrange a meeting between the senator and protesters.

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According to a release sent out by SEIU, more than 300 small business owners in Markey’s district have supported the campaign. The HCAN campaign in Colorado reports the participation of 42 organizations across the state.

SEIU Colorado reports it represents “40,000 healthcare workers, public service employees, janitors and other property service workers. It is the largest healthcare union in Colorado.”

So far this month, Markey has sent out releases touting positions and work on the census, child literacy, earmark reform and road safety. Her exact position on perhaps the most significant legislation of the decade, health reform, has gone unreported. The vote this week will turn on similarly moderate Democrats, mostly representing swing districts like Colorado’s Fourth.

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Here’s the ad, which will air for “more than a week” in Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota and Arkansas, tailored to Democratic Sens. Salazar, Ben Nelson, Byron Dorgan and Mike Pryor, according to TPM:

Salazar, who has reportedly accepted an offer to be President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of the interior, is probably not the most effective target for the message, but TPM reports this is just the latest salvo in what will likely be labor’s biggest legislative battle in the upcoming session of Congress.

A spokesman for SEIU, which is the union slammed in the ad and which is waging a high-profile campaign for the EFCA, released this statement in response to the ad:

“This attack against working people from a business-funded front group is a desperate attempt to distract from what really matters. America’s families need change that works to rebuild the middle class with the free choice to join unions for better wages, benefits, and retirement security. That’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act.”

On the heels of the DSCC announcing its exodus from the Colorado senate race last week, Change to Win — a coalition of seven unions, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — reported that it will send more than 49,000 mailings to Colorado voters in support of Mark Udall, who is running against Republican Bob Schaffer for a seat left vacant by Sen. Wayne Allard.

The ad focuses on the economy and states that Udall is a “strong voice for Colorado working families” who believes in an “investment in homegrown manufacturing jobs” via alternative energy.

Mailings will start to be shipped on Tuesday, according to Change to Win, which boasts a total of 6 million members nationwide. While a tally of membership numbers in Colorado is currently unknown, it’s clear that the coalition has at least 5,000 members in the state.

A a Rocky Mountain News-CBS4 poll of 500 registered voters released Sunday night showed Udall leading Schaffer by 12 points.

Labor union Colorado WINS added 22,500 state workers to its ranks in June, after five state employee groups participated in a mail-in election and voted for union representation.

The remaining workers voted to unionize by mail-in ballot in August during the media frenzy building up to the Democratic National Convention, choosing again to be represented by Colorado WINS.

In November, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter issued an executive order recognizing state workers’ efforts to form employee organizations that negotiate workplace issues and collectively bargain, although partnerships don’t have the right to strike or participate in binding arbitration.

Although Colorado WINS conducted a massive effort to organize the state workers shortly after the executive order was announced, state employees were also organizers in the union campaign.

Colorado WINS is composed of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); the Colorado Association of Public Employees/Service Employees International Union (CAPE/SEIU), and the American Federation of Teachers.

The union states that the business has refused to continue providing health insurance for workers, even after employees agreed to a compromise that would give up pensions, vacation and sick time in exchange for health insurance.

Attempts to contact BG Service Solutions over the weekend were unsuccessful.

The conflict motivated the union to publish the e-mail message, which encouraged supporters to call the business, voicing support for the company to bargain in “good faith.”

A search of National Labor Relations Board documents, the federal agency that investigates unfair labor practices throughout the country, found no prior cases regarding BG Service Solutions.

The protest, which took place Aug. 25, was held in an effort to pressure the Millard Group into excepting a labor union organized by janitors who clean the mall. Donning purple T-shirts, the group of approximately 45 people gathered along an intersection located next to Interstate-25 near the shopping center. A few supporters delivered flyers to passing cars, while the majority of picketers marched around the area and shouted chants. (Millard, escucha! Estamos en la lucha!)

Janitors allege that the company has been strongly opposed to the union, and that they fear for the future of their jobs.

“They tried to buy us out by giving us raises. They gave a three dollar raise.” said one worker identified only as Maria. “So we don’t have health insurance and they could take this raise away anytime.”

According to employees, Millard has raised hourly wages from 7 dollars to 10 dollars in the past year. But another janitor identified only as Lupe, said that the raise still doesn’t buy job security.

“[Bosses] said if we signed a union contract we’d have problems,” she said, while she noted that she is fearful of retaliation because of union support.

It took only thirty minutes of picketing before mall security and law enforcement officials made an appearance to request that protesters keep off the grass and remain on the sidewalk, the only space that qualified as public property. Participants abided by the command and subsequently organized a single line of purple.

Rev. Daniel Klawitter, with the United Methodist Church, also made an appearance to picket and support what he considers a social justice issue.

“When I heard that workers were being harassed…that was what inspired me to come out,” said Klawitter, who also explained that his congregation supports workers forming unions without intimidation.

SEIU filed legal complaints last week against the Millard Group and Park Meadows owner General Growth Properties, Inc., alleging illegal tactics and intimidation.

At press time, the Millard Group had not returned a request for comment.

According to organizers with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the labor group has been attempting to unionize the employees since May, and now the effort has turned to legal action amid allegations of intimidation and illegal tactics.Yesterday, Aug. 22, SEIU filed complaints with the federal National Labor Relations Board against three companies-one a shopping mall owner, and two that are contracted to provide janitorial services in malls.

Colorado was one of four states where workers were alleged to have had their rights violated when attempting to organize. General Growth Properties, Inc, the owner of Park Meadows, and the Millard Group, which is the cleaning contractor in the mall, are defendants in the complaint.

SEIU organizers also said that anti-union tactics in the campaign have ranged from oppositional pamphlets to employers promising workers higher wages if they don’t try to unionize.

At issue here, are not only wages, but also health care costs and a sense of respect, say union representatives.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

It’s not just businesses on the lobbyist bandwagon.

While corporations pay thousands of dollars for representation at the capitol, labor groups are hip to hiring their own lobbyists to influence the legislative process.

But that’s not to say they’re equal. Labor is in the minority when compared with the long list of lobbyists registered to work on behalf of businesses, and many unions are represented solely by the Colorado AFL-CIO.

Despite this, work is being done beef-up Worker’s Compensation, to protect whistle blowers in the healthcare industry, and to assist low-income state employees with healthcare costs. 

In February, SEIU supported bills to enact whistle blower protection for health care workers and to reallocate tobacco litigation settlement money to medical benefit premiums of low-income state employees.

The former was sent to the Governor’s office last week, while the latter is waiting to be heard by the House Appropriations committee.

SEIU also supported Senate Bill 10, which would have required nurse-to-patient ratios in hospital staffing plans. The bill was killed by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee after the sponsor, Democrat Sen. Lois Tochtrop, alleged unethical lobbying by the Colorado Hospital Association.

The Colorado AFL-CIO opposed a bill that would have created a junk mail “opt-out list,” due to concerns over the impact the measure would have on postal workers. The proposal was killed earlier this month by the House committee on Business Affairs and Labor.

The CO. AFL-CIO also supported measures to allow injured workers to choose their own physicians and to provide Worker’s Compensation coverage for firefighters who contract certain types of cancer. Both bills have been passed by the House.

Predictably, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined SEIU in supporting the tobacco settlement money plan, along with a bill outlining a state employee and employer grievance process which set to be heard by the House Appropriations committee.

While the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1072 has caused anger from the labor community, lobbying at the capitol on worker’s issues is still trucking along on a steady pace with a good success rate.

According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, there have been 17 elections since 2003, and 12 of those were won by unions.

But not every victory comes down to a government supervised election. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is one of the fastest growing unions in the country, and has agreements with 25 companies in the Denver-metro area alone.

One way they have accomplished such gains is by negotiating what they call “master contracts” with businesses across metropolitan markets.

Since SEIU focuses on organizing sub-contracted entities (e.g. janitors) that are beholden to larger employers, master agreements serve to discourage retaliation against unionized workers.

For instance, wages are not increased until a significant number of companies operating in the market have signed an agreement, skirting any competitive disadvantages. 

Last year SEIU gained over 500 new members when they successfully negotiated an agreement with contractors in three local counties.

With such a gain in a state that is not typically known for labor representation, alternatives to union elections are certainly paying off in Colorado.