Reports: Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) to Challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA)
NPR today is circulating a TPM piece which reports that Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak will indeed challenge Senator Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary for the 2010 Senate election. The TPM "exclusive" includes a photo of a handwritten note from Sestak to a supporter declaring his intent, and this tidbit:
"He intends to get in the race," says Meg Infantino, the Congressman's sister, who works at Sestak for Congress. "In the not too distant future, he will sit down with his wife and daughter to make the final decision."
This emerging race may have an impact on the evolution of EFCA -- and vice versa. Days before Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced EFCA in the 111th Congress, Rep. Sestak -- with considerably less fanfare -- introduced H.R. 1355, the National Labor Relations Modernization Act. Rep. Sestak's bill would
- provide for mandatory arbitration following a 120-day mediation period, if after an initial 120 days of bargaining failed to result in an agreement;
- increase penalties against employers (similarly to EFCA's proposed changes); and
- require an employer to provide equal access to the employees to union organizers once an election is ordered.
Many commentators -- including yours truly -- questioned whether or not some of this proposal might provide fodder for discussion as political realities forced card-check to be cut from the bill.
Senator Specter has also suggested similar reforms in his many criticisms of EFCA as drafted, including among others:
- adding an unfair labor practice (ULP) that would occur when an employer holds employees in a “captive audience” speech unless the union has equal time under identical circumstances;
- requiring the parties to begin negotiations within 21 days after a union is certified and allowing either party to call for mediation by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) if there is no agreement after 120 days from the first meeting; and
- on a finding that a party is not negotiating in good faith, allowing an order to be issued establishing a schedule for negotiation and imposing costs and attorney fees.
Which, if any, of these ideas gains any traction, and how each of these two men operate in the ongoing debate over EFCA in the months ahead, will likely have significant impact on which of the two candidates organized labor will get behind in the primaries. That, in turn, could have impact on the prospects for the current version of EFCA, or additional related legislation, in the 112th Congress.
For what its worth, NPR also reports that Republican candidate Pat Toomey, an opponent of EFCA, "welcomed" Sestak's candidacy:
What's It Toomey? Pat Toomey, the conservative former congressman and ex-chair of Club for Growth who is the leading Republican candidate for the Senate seat, welcomed Sestak to the race: ""While Joe Sestak and I disagree on a host of issues, I commend him for being a principled liberal who stands up for his beliefs and values. I have always believed that Pennsylvania voters -- not party bosses in Washington -- should have the final say over whom their nominees will be."
