Posted on 07/17/2009 1:31:10 PM PDT by jazusamo
A group of senators are discussing dropping a key provision in the card-check bill in order to win centrist support in the upper chamber.
But congressional aides and union officials said no agreement has been hammered out yet on an alternative to a bill that is organized labor’s top legislative priority. They stressed that that every piece of the legislation is up for discussion in order to earn 60 votes to beat back a certain Senate filibuster.
A report in The New York Times Thursday said senators led by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had decided to remove the card-check or majority sign-up portion of the bill, formally known as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
That provision would allow workers to bypass secret ballot elections in forming a union if a majority of workers signed petition cards stating their intention to organize.
According to the report in the Times, lawmakers are considering replacing that provision with a measure that would require shorter unionization campaigns and quicker elections.
Harkin spokeswoman Kate Cyrul said no agreement has been reached, but that everything is under discussion.
“Negotiations continue and in our view, we don't have agreement on anything until we have agreement on everything,” Cyrul said.
Union officials made similar comments.
“There's been no agreement and everything is still being discussed and on the table,” said Alison Omens, spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO. “As we've always said, majority sign-up is the best way for workers to have the right to choose a voice at their workplace.”
Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, released a statement that said he expected a vote on the card-check provision when the bill comes to the floor in both the House and the Senate.
“As we have said from day one, majority sign-up is the best way for workers to have the right to choose a voice at their workplace,” Stern said in a statement. “The Employee Free Choice Act is going through the usual legislative process, and we expect a vote on a majority sign-up provision in the final bill or by amendment in both houses of Congress.”
Unions have campaigned for the bill because they argue it would expand collective bargaining rights to workers who want them. They could then negotiate for better wages and benefits once they were unionized.
Even if the card-check provision is dropped from the final bill, business associations would still lobby heavily against the legislation, they said. They oppose another part of the bill that would allow an arbitrator appointed by the government to resolve differences. Business sees this as allowing too much government interference in business decisions.
“We’ve been clear all along that card-check is the political poison in this bill, but forced government arbitration is the economic poison,” said Steven Law, chief legal officer and general counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “This rumored alternative is just a discounted version of the original bill and we intend to work hard to block it.”
A number of centrist Democrats either oppose the bill or are skittish of offering support in the face of a heavy lobbying campaign by business against the legislation.
It’s a sad day in America when union thugs dictate policy to our elected officials. Card check will destroy small businesses, but the communist in chief has to pay back the unions for their $60M support in his election. Unions have an open door to the White House.
The lawyers are getting ready for Card Check:
“July 2009
Employee Free Choice Act Update
In an effort to help secure 60 votes (and avoid a filibuster in the Senate), some congressional supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) have proposed an alternate version of the Act that would drop the “card check” aspect of the bill and instead push for shorter election times (5 or 10 days)—sometimes referred to as “ambush elections.” If card check is eliminated from the EFCA, it is expected to substantially accelerate passage of the bill, as several key Democrats were reluctant to support the EFCA with the card check provision.
As you know, when the EFCA was introduced in the Senate (and passed in the House of Representatives), it had three parts:
· Card check;
· Mandatory arbitration for the first contract after union certification if a deal is not reached in 90 days; and
· Heightened penalties for unfair labor practices committed during an organizing campaign.
At this time, no new bill has been released, but it is expected that the latest version would include mandatory arbitration, heightened penalties for unfair labor practices and a new provision for shorter election times.
Under either version of the EFCA, union organizing efforts will increase dramatically. If you have not already developed your union avoidance strategy, we strongly urge you to do so now.”
You’re correct, it is a sad day and hopefully all Repubs and the centrist Dems will defeat this.
Thanks for your post. The union thugs and their collaborators in Congress are pulling out all the stops on this.
Card-check is the ONLY important thing in this bill, isn’t it?
Doesn’t look like it, check post 4. Seems the Dems are willing to forgo card check for quicker elections they can conrol more efectively.
Thank you for your post.
I’m glad that I could add to it. :-)
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