Saturday, November 14, 2009: EFCA Round-Up
Over the last few months as the House and Senate have turned just about the entirety of their attention to healthcare insurance legislation, the winds previously swirling about the Employee Free Choice Act have calmed considerably. In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, new AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it "the best stall that we've ever had," asserting "we're going to get healthcare done" first and then turn full attention to passing EFCA. Melanie Trottman reports:
Once the health care bill is passed (Trumka is confident it will become law), unions will move immediately to EFCA, a bill they’ve been forced to push to the back burner while health care dominates the spotlight. Unions say they need the so-called “card check” bill to make sure workers can join unions without employer intimidation. They’re also keen on a provision that would allow government arbitrators to quickly settle stalled labor contract disputes.
Business trade groups are prepared to continue fighting the bill which they say would unjustly force contract terms and allow unions to intimidate employees into joining.
Elsewhere:
- in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, columnist MIchael Smerconish highlights former Rep. Dede Scozzofaza's (R-NY) support for EFCA as one of the prime reasons many conservatives and Republicans withdrew their support for her, effectively handing New York's 23rd district to the Democrats for the first time in decades.
- In the Houston Chronicle, Fisher & Phillips partner Kevin Troutman identifies elements of the pending healthcare legislation that will drive up unionization, even as EFCA idles.
- In the Wall Street Journal, earlier this week, Kris Maher reported on various efforts to enact elements of EFCA and speculated EFCA compromise propositions in various states. (For our earlier coverage of similar state efforts, see posts here and here.)
