@LRToday Morning Round-Up: November 8, 2012
Changes to Senate and House Committees: Michael Rose of Bloomberg BNA ($) writes that seven members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will depart the committee, but the the current chairman, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), and ranking member, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), are expected to remain in place in the 113th Congress.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rose reports in a separate piece that few changes are expected to the makeup of the Senate HELP Committee. There is only member of the committee, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who is not returning as he announced his retirement. The committee is chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), with Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) remaining the ranking member.
Proposition to Limit Union Dues Fails: Peter Fimrite of SFGate.com reports that California voters rejected a measure that would have prohibited labor unions from spending members' dues on campaigns.
The business-backed initiative, titled the Stop Special Interest Money Now Act, was neutral on its face, barring corporations as well as unions from using funds deducted from employees' paychecks for political purposes.
But it would have had a strong effect only on unions, because corporations typically make campaign contributions with their own funds or through donations from top executives. Overall, businesses and their executives outspend labor unions in California elections by about 3 to 1.
Alabama Passes Amends Constitution to Protect Secret Ballot Elections: Bob Johnson of SFGate.com writes that Alabama voters passed Amendment 7, which allows only secret ballots to be used on votes to allow unions to form in the workplace. The measure is similar to the provision in Arizona.
