Former Arkansas Democratic Senate Staffers Lobbying Against Employee Free Choice For Wal-Mart

It’s been no secret that targets numbers one and two for Wal-Mart in the EFCA lobbying battle have been Arkansas’ Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. Disclosure laws make it difficult to determine the exact ways that Wal-Mart lobbyists have courted the Senators, but it’s safe to say that the pressure levied on the two has been intense.

Now it’s clear that Wal-Mart has taken a shrewd new path: hiring former staffers (pictured at right) to try and convince their old bosses and co-workers to vote for Wal-Mart, and against workers. 

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that one of Blanche Lincoln’s former staffers has been hired by Wal-Mart to lobby against EFCA:

In Arkansas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is bitterly opposed to the bill, has hired a Democratic lobbyist—and former staffer of Sen. Blanche Lincoln—to help defeat the bill.

The staffer in question is Kelly Bingel, who worked for years in Blanche Lincoln’s office as a Legislative Director and then Chief Of Staff. Several years ago, she was hired by the lobbying firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Inc., who now have her working for Wal-Mart against Employee Free Choice. (It’s probably pretty intimidating when your old boss shows up to tell you you better vote with Wal-Mart, no?). A snapshot of the lobbying filing is here.

Our research shows a staffer for Mark Pryor has gone down the same regrettable path. Longtime Pryor staffer Walter Pryor (no relation) has been hired by the Podesta Group to lobby for...wait for it....Wal-Mart on EFCA.

A snapshot of Pryor’s lobbying filing is here. This one is doubly bizarre - because he listed on the filings as an aide for Senator Pryor. Likely that’s a mistake - because legislative aides are most certainly not allowed to lobby. 

We’ll keep you updated as more information rolls in. In the meantime, it’s up to all of us to convince Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor to vote with workers, not Wal-Mart - even if it means saying no to old friends.