Labor Relations Today : Labor & Employment Lawyers & Attorneys : Contract Administration, Collective Bargaining

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The Hill's Kevin Bogardus reports that organized labor will continue to campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act despite the election of Scott Brown (R-MA) to the Senate.  Thursday, Bill Samuel, director of government affairs for the AFL-CIO, admitted that the election changed the dynamic in the Senate:  

“We are obviously reevaluating our strategy,” Samuel said on a conference call with reporters. “We have no intention of backing off that commitment.”
 

Bogardus aptly notes what many commentators are missing in this discussion: "Even when Democrats had a super-majority in the Senate though, labor groups were finding it difficult to round up enough votes to move forward with EFCA, which would make union organizing much easier."  There were many Democrat Senators who were consistently opposed to the legislation as introduced.  Samuel seems to concede that Brown’s election makes it that much more complicated. 

Asked if the AFL-CIO would reach out to Brown, who has been viewed as somewhat centrist in the Massachusetts State Senate: 

“We really don’t know the answer to that,” Samuel said, adding he would be happy to talk to Brown about the bill. “We have had a number of conversations with moderates and we will continue to do so.”