Democrats’ Abandonment of the Employee Free Choice Act

[Crewleader]

by Sharon Smith / March 27th, 2009


The U.S. corporate class has always been notorious for its ferocious opposition to unions. And true to form, business leaders reacted with collective hysteria to the introduction of legislation in the House and Senate on March 10th that would make it just a bit easier for workers to unionize.

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would allow unions to win recognition once a majority of workers at a given workplace signs a union card, rather than allowing managers to force their workers to suffer through a drawn-out union election by secret ballot. Employers typically prefer to force a union election because it allows them to delay the decision by months while they fire union supporters and force their workers to endure “captive audience” meetings with managers who threaten to close down the company or move elsewhere in the case of a union victory.

EFCA would also compel recalcitrant employers to bargain with unions, by imposing binding arbitration if there is no agreement reached 120 days after a union wins recognition. This is necessary because roughly half of all new unions never get a contract due to their managements’ refusal to bargain in good faith.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/03/democrats-abandonment-of-the-employee-free-choice-act/

[David Dunham]

1. Sadly, it's toast, burned as can be.

[billyoc]

2. I'll decide that.

[lsewpershad]

5. You bet

Are the democrats becoming anti-labor out of fear of the repukes or were the whole lot bought by big buisness?

[rurallib]

6. If you raise your nose in the air you can smell the "campaign contributions"

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. This just came into my inbox: Harkin Courts GOP to Save Card Check

With Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) refusing to back a controversial union organizing bill, Senate Democrats have tapped Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to begin preliminary discussions with a handful of moderate Republicans to try to come up with a new plan for reforming the nation’s labor laws.

Democratic aides said Harkin’s outreach to the GOP is in the early stages and, because of that, declined to identify which Republicans he is courting.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking Friday at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, hinted that Democrats weren’t giving up entirely on the “card check” legislation.

“With Specter backing out on this ... I know there are conversations going on with other Republicans” to find a compromise, Reid said.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/33591-1.html?ET=rollcall:e4289:80071146a:&st=email

[Crewleader]

4. thanks for the info friend