The writing was on the wall, but it's now New York Times official: The card check provision of the Employee Free Choice Act has been set aside in favor of a compromise that allows accelerated elections with less time for management intimidation. But...Corporate lobbyists have indicated they would oppose fast elections, arguing that such a provision would deny employers ample opportunity to educate employees about the downside of unionizing, such as strikes and union dues.Labor leaders counter that employers will have plenty of opportunity to fight unionization, noting that many companies begin plying employees with anti-union information the day they are hired.
Despite the rhetoric from conservatives, their opposition to this bill was never about a "secret ballot" for workers. It was about making sure joining a union would still be hard for workers. The silver lining in this compromise is that the hypocrisy of arguments against the bill will be on full display. In the past, labor sources have been sanguine about losing card check, since the bill has other important provisions to ease the difficulties of organizing, including heavier penalties for employers who violate the National Labor Relations Act and first-contract arbitration to ensure that once a union is recognized it will get an employment deal. Unsurprisingly, both of these provisions are also opposed by business interests.
Labor must be stinging, especially with Al Franken now in the senate. It's been a hard year for their top legislative priority, and aside from a few stalwarts like Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller, they haven't had a lot of serious help on the Hill (and certainly not from the president). It's been clear for awhile now that the current bill was a non-starter, but union leaders have been equally clear that they want to pass something called the Employee Free Choice Act this year that makes organizing easier. Maybe they'll take another bite at the apple after the 2010 elections, when the playing field will likely be more in their favor.
As an inside-baseball side note, I'm interested in why Steve Greenhouse, the Times labor reporter, went with this story now. There hasn't been an official announcement, and Harkin's press secretary wouldn't confirm it, and those same half-dozen labor-friendly senators have been talking about jettisoning card check for months. What was the decision point?
Further Reading: The politics of Employee Free Choice.
-- Tim Fernholz
