Labor secretary (Solis) hopes to ‘level the playing field'

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6524927.html

By LOIS ROMANO
WASHINGTON POST
July 11, 2009, 4:58PM

WASHINGTON — After a lifetime in politics, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has honed the fine art of dodging controversial questions, but here's one issue where she doesn't pull her punches: the high unemployment rate.

“This is a 26-year high. ... It's unprecedented,” Solis said.

Solis, 51, a former member of Congress, grew up in California, the third of seven children born to Latino immigrants with deep union ties. The business community was not happy with her appointment.

One of her most pressing issues is the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a huge priority of labor that would effectively change the way unions are organized. Under the proposed legislation, a secret ballot election can be bypassed. The measure faces a tough battle on Capitol Hill. Interview excerpts:

Q: Doesn't the Employee Free Choice Act in fact take power away from the employer (and) give that power to the union organizers?

A: I don't think that it takes away power from businesses. I think it helps to level the playing field because, in many cases, workers have been disadvantaged. They've been intimidated, they've been harassed, and we have case after case after case that we can look at. And you probably hear from the opposing side, that they will say, “Well, no, there have been successes where people have been able to organize, and they have been able to push forward a unionization.” But when you look at the attempts that have been made over the past few years ... there have been barriers that have been put up. And I think that the past administration was not very favorable for unions. They were not supportive in many ways.

Q: The federal minimum wage is about to go up to $7.25 an hour, but more than half the states have a higher minimum wage. Is the federal minimum wage still too low?

FULL story at link.