Continuing Reaction To Rumors of Card Check’s Demise
Friday, July 17th, 2009 by adminThe rumors may be overstated, or maybe not. Today, the New York Times is reporting that the “card check” provision of the Employee Free Choice Act will be dropped from consideration. Here are some more thoughts on the matter:
- Marc Ambinder says “card check is as good as dead”: “A canvass of labor leaders and strategists this morning confirms the diagnosis reached by the New York Times: there is not enough support in the Senate to change federal law to allow ‘card check’ elections anytime soon. This is the first time since the start of the fight that labor leaders are conceding in private what has seemed to be apparent in public for a long while.”
- Liz Wolgemuth says Employee Free Choice Without Card Check: “Card Check Lite?”: “Other possible revisions to the bill include granting union organizers access onto business property–a revision the chamber would oppose. Perhaps the group’s biggest beef is that the bill retains a provision that would speed up the often lengthy contract negotiations by allowing either employers or unions to request federal mediators if agreement hasn’t been reached within 90 days of bargaining. If the mediators don’t succeed, government-appointed arbitrators would be brought in to decide the contracts. The chamber has argued that arbitrators could force employers into contracts that would threaten their financial positions.”
- Over at the Cato Institute they’re reminding us “Employee Free Choice Act” Still Bad News: “What remains of the bill is still bad news. It would reduce the typical union-organizing election from two months to as short as five days. This is a provision that could only be favored by the side that wants workers to be deprived of the information and the time they need to make an informed decision. And it would force employers to accept the decision of a government arbitration panel even if the resulting union contract would threaten the company’s survival.”
The fight is far from over.
Tags: Compromise, State of Play
