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Moderates Lining Up Against 'Card Check'
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
Opponents of the federal Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) include several moderate senators, both Democrats and Republicans. The bipartisan nature of the opposition may make the legislation, desperately desired by labor unions, tough to enact.
If passed, the legislation, also known as “card check,” would allow union officials to bypass existing laws governing the process whereby union representation enters a workplace and permits unions to organize simply by obtaining signatures from a majority of workers who sign authorization cards.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have a tough time getting moderate Blue Dog Democrats to support the union-backed legislation more commonly known as card check.
Support among six senators, including Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is a key vote, is faltering. The Pennsylvania moderate voted for it in 2007. But the he was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, “I’m still thinking about it. I’m being lobbied on it very, very heavily.”
Another senator on the fence is Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln. In an interview Monday, the Democratic lawmaker said, “I have 90,000 Arkansans who need a job, that’s my No. 1 priority.”
She referred to the legislation as “divisive.” Such controversy is not needed in today’s climate.
Ms. Lincoln’s Arkansas colleague, and fellow Democrat, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor has also changed his mind as has Louisiana Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. All of these senators represent states that have electorates opposed to unions and could have tough re-election campaigns.
While President Barack Obama and congressional leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., support the bill it is far from a fait accompli. Mr. Reid has the oppostion in the Senate, which could cause a filibuster and prevent passage. Ms. Pelosi has the Blue Dog Democrats in the House to contend with.
U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., is one the Blue Dogs, conservative Democrats, who oppose it. Mr. Berry recently had said that he thought the bill was a piece of junk and that he only voted for it in the past because he knew then-President George W. Bush would veto it.
According to Mr. Berry, the Blue Dogs told House leadership that card check wasn’t a free vote for them anymore, and their constituents were giving them a lot of grief over the issue. They urged the House leadership not to bring this bill back up on the House floor until the Senate had passed something first.
Republicans opposition is also moving forward.
On February 25, U.S. Sens. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA), legislation is designed to guarantee American workers a secret ballot election on whether to join a union. The act has 16 original co-sponsors, all Republican.
Similar legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. John Kline, R-Minn., Tom Price, R-Ga., and Buck McKeon, R-Calif., with over 100 co-sponsors.
The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to recognize, or bargain with, a union that has not been selected by a majority of employees in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It also would make it an unfair labor practice for a union to cause or attempt to cause an employer to recognize or bargain with a union that has not been selected in a secret ballot NLRB election.
The SBPA is meant as a counter to the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, which would amend the NLRA to require the NLRB to certify a union as a representative of employees if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards. The act would effectively eliminate NLRB conducted secret ballot elections.
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
If passed, the legislation, also known as “card check,” would allow union officials to bypass existing laws governing the process whereby union representation enters a workplace and permits unions to organize simply by obtaining signatures from a majority of workers who sign authorization cards.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have a tough time getting moderate Blue Dog Democrats to support the union-backed legislation more commonly known as card check.
Support among six senators, including Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is a key vote, is faltering. The Pennsylvania moderate voted for it in 2007. But the he was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, “I’m still thinking about it. I’m being lobbied on it very, very heavily.”
Another senator on the fence is Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln. In an interview Monday, the Democratic lawmaker said, “I have 90,000 Arkansans who need a job, that’s my No. 1 priority.”
She referred to the legislation as “divisive.” Such controversy is not needed in today’s climate.
Ms. Lincoln’s Arkansas colleague, and fellow Democrat, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor has also changed his mind as has Louisiana Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. All of these senators represent states that have electorates opposed to unions and could have tough re-election campaigns.
While President Barack Obama and congressional leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., support the bill it is far from a fait accompli. Mr. Reid has the oppostion in the Senate, which could cause a filibuster and prevent passage. Ms. Pelosi has the Blue Dog Democrats in the House to contend with.
U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., is one the Blue Dogs, conservative Democrats, who oppose it. Mr. Berry recently had said that he thought the bill was a piece of junk and that he only voted for it in the past because he knew then-President George W. Bush would veto it.
According to Mr. Berry, the Blue Dogs told House leadership that card check wasn’t a free vote for them anymore, and their constituents were giving them a lot of grief over the issue. They urged the House leadership not to bring this bill back up on the House floor until the Senate had passed something first.
Republicans opposition is also moving forward.
On February 25, U.S. Sens. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA), legislation is designed to guarantee American workers a secret ballot election on whether to join a union. The act has 16 original co-sponsors, all Republican.
Similar legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. John Kline, R-Minn., Tom Price, R-Ga., and Buck McKeon, R-Calif., with over 100 co-sponsors.
The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to recognize, or bargain with, a union that has not been selected by a majority of employees in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It also would make it an unfair labor practice for a union to cause or attempt to cause an employer to recognize or bargain with a union that has not been selected in a secret ballot NLRB election.
The SBPA is meant as a counter to the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, which would amend the NLRA to require the NLRB to certify a union as a representative of employees if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards. The act would effectively eliminate NLRB conducted secret ballot elections.
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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