Business builds for a fight against big Dem majorities

Business groups banding together to counteract the massive labor-organized voter turnout programs are conceding that the fight to stop Democrats from expanding their majorities in Congress is lost.

As a result, these business groups are looking ahead to the 111th Congress, and are using their turnout programs to build an active citizens’ lobby with the strength to limit the spoils labor groups may reap from their expected victory in November.

{mosads}“Any objective person that’s looking at the make-up of the Senate and House races today would undoubtedly conclude the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate will expand,” said Bill Miller, senior vice president of political affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

But he said the Chamber’s large grassroots operation, which includes 2,800 state and local chambers of commerce and 900 other associations, will have a substantial impact on how those Democratic majorities legislate.

All of the major business groups have built aggressive voter education programs to influence the employees of member companies and business associations. Several of the groups, which include the Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), have significantly expanded their target audience compared to 2004.

But the goal of the massive effort is less about giving Republicans control of Congress than about limiting how much of labor’s agenda passes under Democratic leadership. With the economy in freefall, Democrats are gaining ground in polls around the country and business lobbyists are pessimistic about the landscape changing in the next 30 days.

NFIB, usually viewed as a pro-Republican group despite its publicly neutral stance, has even endorsed more Democratic candidates than in recent elections in an effort to count more friends in the next Congress.

“Nov. 4 is a date and not the end of this,” said Greg Casey, president and CEO of BIPAC.

He warned that incoming Democrats will make a mistake if they begin passing the legislation demanded by their labor allies immediately upon arriving in Washington.

“Whoever comes to the 111th Congress should know that a lot of people who voted [for] Republicans in 2004 and Democrats in 2006 don’t want a partisan food fight, they want a government that works,” Casey said.

“A blue legislator in a red district who votes on bills that fulfill ideological, partisan promises may see the same angry electorate that Republicans saw in 2006.”

Unions see this year’s election as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move labor-building legislation. Even though Democrats recaptured the Senate and House in 2006, most of labor’s wish list was held in check by the threat of presidential veto. Labor officials now eye the possibility of Democrats picking up five to nine seats in the Senate and capturing the White House.

{mospagebreak}“Workers have suffered nearly two decades of wage stagnation,” said Bill Samuel, legislative director at the AFL-CIO. “We believe that’s because workers have lost the ability to bargain for higher wages and better benefits.

Business leaders recognize labor is determined to win victories in Congress next year.

“The labor agenda for next year is huge because they haven’t gotten a lot of what they wanted,” said Jade West, senior vice president of government relations with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

{mosads}The biggest prize for labor is the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for union shops to organize by allowing them to bypass secret-ballot elections in the workplace. Business groups, however, say the legislation would enable union organizers to intimidate workers into joining their cause.

Samuel said labor will also call for action to expand health insurance and promote paid family/medical leave, greater regulation of Wall Street investment firms and stricter enforcement of workplace standards.

Business groups are ramping up their activities in the run-up to the election, in an effort to limit Democratic gains and set the stage for grassroots lobbying in 2009 and beyond.

They’re spurred by the unprecedented spending of national labor groups such as the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). AFL-CIO and SEIU plan to spend $54 million and $85 million in this year’s election, respectively.

BIPAC, a trade association that includes most of the Fortune 100 companies, had 900 companies and business associations participating in its employee mobilization program in 2004. This election cycle, BIPAC says that almost 4,000 companies and business groups will participate, reaching an audience of 20 million employees. That target exceeds the 13 million union households that the AFL-CIO has announced it will contact before the election.

NAM, which is working with BIPAC, has compiled information on congressional candidates to distribute to employees at 11,000 member companies, said Tiffany Adams, vice president of public affairs at NAM.

The U.S. Chamber has nearly doubled participation in its VoteforBusiness.com program since 2004, said Miller. The trade association has also made “heavy ad buys” in many of the states with competitive Senate races.

While the business grassroots programs may not substantially alter the balance in Congress, strategists hope it will have a significant influence on legislation next year.

“It becomes something where we’re able to use individuals as a grassroots army to put weight on legislative issues in the off-season,” said Miller.