The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) is reporting today that Democratic staffers are likely to begin drafting EFCA compromise legislation. And, by all appearances, the compromise will still contain a card-check provision.
Having only 39 co-sponsors, the hallucino-genically-named Employee Free Choice Act is currently stalled in the Senate and has faced strong opposition from the GOP, as well as some opposition from Democrats in the august chamber.
According to BNA (subscription only):
Senate Democratic supporters of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409) are likely to begin drafting compromise language after support for the original bill eroded over the past two weeks, a Senate aide told BNA April 3…
Congressional bill supporters knew there were many senators that had issues with the bill, but had hoped to resolve them through the amendment process, the aide said.
However, that was before Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who had been viewed by EFCA supporters as a potential vote for EFCA, said he would not support the bill.
In the following days, seven Democratic senators voiced varying degrees of opposition to the bill or to specific provisions. The seven Democratic senators include: Sens. Thomas Carper (Del.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), and Mark Udall (Colo.).
“We always knew this was going to go through a long process on amendments,” the aide said. “So now it looks like a compromise.”
The aide told BNA that a possible compromise, being discussed, could involve a card offering two choices: majority sign-up, which would count as a vote for unionization, and another box that would indicate the employee would prefer a secret ballot election. The worker could then use a mail-in option, the aide said.
While a proposed “dual purpose” card (viewed at right below) may have appeal to those selling queasy lawmakers from both sides of the aisle that workers “will have a choice,” this will will ultimately be a Trojan Horse argument into passing the “card check” provisions of EFCA and should be opposed.
Here’s why:
As has been the case for many years under National Labor Relations Board rulings, union organizers do not have to be truthful during union organizing campaigns.
Go to 1-888-NO-UNION.COM’s section on Union Organizing Tactics here for more information.
As a result of any union’s ability to deceive workers on the purpose of a union authorization card, the secret ballot should not be compromised by any EFCA compromise.
