CWA: Restore Fairness to Senate Rules

Members of CWA from Locals 2222, 2336 and headquarters leaflet outside Senate office buildings, spreading the word about how procedural rules that have caused two years of gridlock in the Senate can be fixed.

CWAers from Locals 2222, 2336 and headquarters leafleted outside U.S. Senate office buildings this week as Senators and staff returned for a post-election legislative session. The goal: to alert Capitol Hill workers to the current abuse of Senate rules that has blocked nearly all Senate business for the past two years.

Our event definitely got the attention of members of Congress and staff, some of whom tweeted about getting the info.

In the past legislative session, the House passed more than 400 bills, many of which would have provided real support to working and middle class families. Because of the Senate rules that permit an individual Senator to block even discussion of legislation, the Senate remained stuck in gridlock, with obstructionists in the Republican Party blocking important initiatives for working families, like restoring bargaining rights through the Employee Free Choice Act, ending tax breaks for corporations that move jobs overseas, providing bargaining rights for public safety officers and stopping pay discrimination against women, among others.

And it's not just the filibuster that's the problem.

Holds, secret holds and threatened filibusters by Senators meant government agencies like the National Labor Relations Board couldn’t do their jobs. The NLRB had just two members for nearly a year because of holds placed on nominees to fill the remaining three seats. That has denied justice for thousands of workers who were illegally fired or mistreated by employers.

Just 42.8 percent of President Obama's appointments were confirmed by the Senate in the first 18 months of his presidency. Compare that to the 86.8 percent of nominations in the George W. Bush administration who were confirmed over that same 18-month period.

CWA supports reform of the Senate rules that will end these destructive holds and will bring about open debate and 'yes or no' votes after Senators engage in full discussion of the issues. Isn't that why we elect them to office? These rules aren't in the Constitution.

By abusing these Senate procedures and allowing special corporate interests to override the people's business, a few Senators are able to block the Senate's ability to have real debate. This is a disaster for American families and our democracy.