By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Interest Arbitration,Legislation,NLRA,Representation Elections,Senate,White HouseOn Tuesday, presidential candidate and current Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he, and ten Senate co-sponsors, would introduce the Workplace Democracy Act (S. 2142). The bill — a verbatim reiteration of two provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act in the 110th & 111th Congresses — would: certify a union as the exclusive bargaining… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,NLRA,Representation Elections,UnionsLast week the United Auto Workers suffered a highly publicized defeat at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with employees voting against union representation by a vote of 712 to 626. The union election was significant and closely watched for many reasons, but chiefly because it was the UAW’s first opportunity to create an European-style… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,Corporate Campaigns,Federal Court Litigation,NLRA,Representation Elections,SCOTUSYesterday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in UNITE HERE Local 355 v. Mulhall involving the issue of whether the Labor-Management Relation Act’s prohibition on employers from providing a union with any "thing of value" extends to the promises an employer makes in a neutrality agreement. Last year the Eleventh Circuit held that "organizing assistance… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,Corporate Campaigns,Federal Court Litigation,Negotiations,NLRA,Representation Elections,SCOTUSThe Supreme Court agreed earlier this week to consider whether the Labor-Management Relations Act’s prohibition on employers from providing a union with any "thing of value" extends to the promises an employer makes in a neutrality agreement. Section 302 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, the federal labor anti-bribery statute, makes it unlawful for an employer… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Filibuster,SenateThe early results are in from yesterday’s primary contests, and this morning’s talking points focus on the general anti-incumbent trend. But others, including NAM’s ShopFloor.org, have also noted it was a "Tough Night for the Card Check Crowd." Chief among the figures central to the long-winding evolution of the Employee Free Choice Act is five-term Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat Senator Arlen… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Alternative Labor Law Reform,Card Check,EFCANational Journal reports on last night’s debate between Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and her primary challenger Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D-AR): Halter went on offense first against Lincoln during a question about the Employee Free Choice Act, which is often referred to as "card check." He mentioned that she first sponsored EFCA, then opposed it and… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,Corporate Campaigns,EFCA,Expedited Elections,House of Representatives,Legislative Strategy,SenateFollowing Andy Stern’s surprising announcement that he would step down as President of SEIU, his protege, Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and California-based labor leader, Mary Kay Henry seek to succeed him. This weekend, in a memorandum to the union’s International Executive Board, Ms. Burger laid out her vision for the priorities she would have the union pursue. Listed within the first: Use… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Alternative Labor Law Reform,Card Check,EFCA,Filibuster,Legislative Strategy,SenateIn advance of a probable filibuster (with growing support) over Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board, Glen Spencer of the U.S. Chamber’s Workforce Freedom Initiative and former Clinton-Gore advisor Peter Mirijanian swapped commentary on Fox News earlier today: Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com The anchor led with the angle that… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Beyond EFCA: Labor's Agenda,Card Check,EFCA,Interest Arbitration,Legislative Strategy,NLRB,Remedies,Senate,White HouseThe Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled for an executive session tomorrow to consider pending nominations by the President. The Hill reports today, however, that a spokeswoman for HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said the Committee will not be considering the re-nomination of Craig Becker to the NLRB this week. Nonetheless, business groups continue to ramp up their opposition to… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Alternative Labor Law Reform,Card Check,EFCA,Expedited Elections,Interest Arbitration,Legislative Strategy,Remedies,SenateBack in August, AFL-CIO President (then Treasurer-Secretary) Richard Trumka told a webchat audience that efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act would probably not advance any further until after Congress was through with healthcare reform. As the debate over the healthcare legislation soldiers on, Tuesday’s Politico noted "For labor, there’s always next year": To be sure, health care reform has… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCAState Bill Colorado and Boulder’s Daily Camera report that on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that three state ballot initiatives opposing provisions of the federal Employee Free Choice Act may proceed under state law. The Court held that consideration Initiatives 22, 23 and 24, which would amend the Colorado Constitution to preserve the right to… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Expedited Elections,Filibuster,Interest Arbitration,Legislative Strategy,Remedies,SenateKevin Bogardus of The Hill remains one of the most active reporters on the status of the Employee Free Choice Act. His piece this morning compiles the commentary of numerous Democrat lawmakers seeking to mitigate Senator Arlen Specter’s (D-PA) assurances to the AFL-CIO that an alternative EFCA bill had been finalized and would pass in 2009. … Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Legislative Strategy,Special InterestsIn today’s New York Times, labor reporter Steven Greenhouse has a piece compiling comment from various recent interviews with prominent American labor leaders on the status of the Employee Free Choice Act. From a talk with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney: In an interview, John J. Sweeney, the federation’s president, said he would accept a fast election campaign… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Expedited Elections,Interest Arbitration,Legislative StrategyWhile Healthcare Reform seems to be dominating both the news cycle and the public consciousness recently, there are apparently still at least a few citizens concerned about EFCA. At a town hall meeting earlier today, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) was met by a man who passionately expressed frustrations about EFCA. (See video below.) The Senator’s… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Alternative Labor Law Reform,Card Check,EFCA,Expedited Elections,Interest ArbitrationMore following Friday’s New York Times report that Senate Dems are considering dropping card-check from EFCA, but retaining the troubling mandatory interest arbitration provision. At Commentary, Jennifer Rubin continues her coverage of EFCA developments, expressing skepticism that any such "compromise" would fly: If there is such a deal, those Red state Democrats will be back on… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Expedited Elections,Legislative StrategyWas a New York Times report yesterday about the demise of card check — Section 2 of the Employee Free Choice Act — entirely accurate, premature or something different altogether? At the TAPPED blog, Tim Fernholz of progressive journal The American Prospect asks: As an inside-baseball side note, I’m interested in why Steve Greenhouse, the Times labor reporter,… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Filibuster,SenateThe Minneapolis Star Tribune and CBS report that the Minnesota Supreme Court has affirmed the trial court decision declaring Al Franken (D) the winner of last year’s Senate election: "We affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast" in the election, the decision states. The justices also explicitly… Continue Reading
By McGuireWoods LLP on Posted in Card Check,EFCA,Interest ArbitrationToday’s Chamberpost blog carries commentary on a series of somewhat embarassing admissions by the Director of Collective Bargaining for the AFL-CIO that undermine the coalition’s main talking points in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act: … According to Daily Labor Report, the labor conglomerate’s director of collective bargaining, Gordon Pavy, told a policy forum that the… Continue Reading
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