House Chairman Doubts Veto on TSA Unionization

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20070322/ts_usnews/housechairmandoubtsvetoontsaunionization

House Chairman Doubts Veto on TSA Unionization

By Angie C. Marek Wed Mar 21, 10:24 PM ET

The Senate, led by first-term Sen. Claire McCaskill (news, bio, voting record), passed a compromise measure that allows such union rights to be suspended during times of emergency.
President Bush has said he will veto the entire bill--a signature effort for the Democrats during the election--if either unionization measure remains.

"I don't know of a single instance where a labor issue has prevented law enforcement and security personnel at the federal level from doing their job to protect the American people," Thompson said in an interview with U.S. News, explaining his opposition to the McCaskill compromise.

"If an emergency happens, they will come to the aid of this country. On 9/11 there were more union police officers and firefighters killed than any other group." He called the amendment "an effort to strike out at organized labor."

He also expressed at least tepid optimism that the president would back down from his veto threat. The tussle between the White House and Democrats mirrors a similar disagreement over labor rights that occurred during the start-up of the Department of
Homeland Security in 2003.

"I would hope that the president would look at the realities of the threat we're facing and not play anti-union politics at the expense of making progress against major U.S. vulnerabilities," Thompson said. "If he vetoes , I think he'll create all sorts of complaints from the American people, who spoke during these elections. I'm hoping he sees the light." The date has not yet been set for a conference on the measure.

Bush has used his veto power just once during his presidency.