By Karoun Demirjian, CQ Staff

Labor unions sought to turn public anger over AIG bonuses and bank bailouts into support for the “card check” bill in a nationwide series of protests on Thursday.

The Service Employees International Union had promised to deliver 10,000 people to the offices of AIG and other bailout recipients. However, its “Take Back the Economy” campaign was not just about corporate excess.

Union officials say the Employee Free Choice Act — the card check measure (HR 1409) — would not only make it easier for workers to form unions but prevent all manner of corporate evils.

“The bonus scandals at AIG and the big banks are the last straw,” said SEIU President Andy Stern. “It’s time ... for Congress to ... make sure that workers in America can have a chance for a voice at their companies, affordable health care, and a financial system that works for people.”

But business advocates say attempts to link card check with the AIG bonuses are fundamentally flawed.

“Even if AIG was organized, unions don’t bargain over salaries or bonuses of executives. I can understand why the unions are trying to exploit the situation .. but these are completely apples and oranges,” said Randy Johnson, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Nonetheless, the sentiment seems to strike a nerve with some in Congress.

“In my congressional district ... there are thousands of [United Auto Workers] employees who have employment contracts, and they’ve been told that they need to renegotiate those contracts and make concessions to justify taxpayer investments,” Michigan Democrat Gary Peters , a cosponsor of the card check bill, said at a hearing Wednesday. “People are sick of this double standard, where working-class and middle-class workers are treated differently than the financial industry executives.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., had said that Senate Democrats are trying to firm up 60 votes for the legislation. He said he would like to consider the bill before the August recess but acknowledged it could slip until later in the year.