Last Specter was the only Republican to vote for cloture when the measure
week, Sen. Arlen Specter pledged to vote against the Employee Free
Choice Act (EFCA), saying it would likely result in job losses in the
midst of a severe recession.
Specter (R-Pa.) also announced he would vote against cloture, a
move that would open the door for the so-called "card check" bill to
come up for a vote.
was last considered in 2007. Organized labor and the bill's Democratic
sponsors had been working to secure Specter's vote to get the 60 votes
needed in the Senate to avoid a Republican-led filibuster.
Business groups and individuals, including SAF and its members,
have aggressively made their case to Congressional members, outlining
specific challenges EFCA would pose to their businesses.
EFCA would make it easier for labor unions to organize businesses
of all sizes, by allowing unions to use a majority sign-up or "card
check" method instead of a secret ballot during union-organizing
elections. EFCA would require an employer to recognize the union if it
collects authorization cards from more than 50 percent of the
employees. There would be no secret ballot election in such a case. In
addition, once a union was formed, the law would require binding
arbitration if a contract was not agreed to within 120 days.
SAF opposes the legislation as it would saddle job-creating
businesses with higher costs and more regulation at an already
vulnerable time, said SAF Government Relations Chairman Kevin Priest,
AAF.
The private sector floated its own compromises last week, too. The
CEOs of Costco, Whole Foods and Starbucks, in a joint statement
published in The Washington Post,
said the current card-check and mandatory binding arbitration proposals
were "non-starters" in any legitimate debate. The compromise would
maintain management's right to demand a secret ballot and leave out
binding arbitration.
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), of which SAF is a
member, urges all members to be wary of any compromise that could
result in EFCA's passage. Any plan that gets 60 votes for cloture could
be amended once on the floor and usher unwanted regulations. Given that
chance, SAF also opposes any compromise.
Remember, your senators work for you, said Priest, so let your elected officials know your opposition to EFCA. Go to SAF to urge your senators to vote no on cloture and to oppose EFCA.