Dateline: June 19, 2009, Erick Becker, Examiner.com
Just a few short weeks ago, it was declared dead. Six feet under. Muerte. Like the ex-parrot in the Monty Python sketch. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the number one legislative priority of labor unions, was not going to make it past a Senate filibuster, effectively killing the bill. Businesses started breathing easier. Unions, who spent hundreds of millions to get pro-labor politicians elected in 2008, were angry and demoralized.
It seems the bill’s demise was greatly exaggerated. Many senators, including Republican-now-Democrat Arlen Specter and Dianne Feinstein, were queasy over the EFCA’s “card check” provision, which would mandate union recognition based on signed authorization cards from a majority of employees, rather than a secret ballot election. Unions, realizing they had been out-lobbied by business interests, have been turning up the pressure on wavering senators over recent weeks, and both Specter and Feinstein recently signaled their willingness to vote for a compromise version of EFCA. Labor may have 60 votes for the bill after all, allowing the legislation to get through the Senate and onto President Obama’s desk in the next few months.
If EFCA becomes law, it is not the Wal-Marts of the world who will be most affected. Wal-Mart has already educated its employees regarding unions and authorization cards, as have many other large corporations. Instead, unions will likely target small and mid-size companies because they usually don’t have the experience or resources to respond effectively to organizing attempts.
Print This Post
Email This Post
