thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check

While we were over checking in on the proceedings of a card-check-focused panel at the Americans For Prosperity RightOnline event, Sen. Arlen Specter was across town in Pittsburgh leaving many at the very-liberal Netroots Nation with the impression that he will be voting for cloture on the Employee Free Choice Act*.

Michael O’Brien at The Hill was all over the story and included this reaction from the Workplace Fairness Institute:

“Specter needs to answer whether he will vote no on cloture if the bill includes the elimination of the secret ballot or mandatory, binding arbitration,” said Katie Packer, executive director for the group.

“And working families in Pennsylvania deserve to know whether Specter will keep the promise he made to them on the floor of the United States Senate when he stated his opposition to both card check and forced arbitration.”

Elsewhere, Shopfloor’s Carter Wood notes:

EFCA is a moving target these days, and it’s unclear what theoretical legislation Senator Specter was referring to. He has expressed support for a “modified version,” perhaps a “compromise” he works out with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA).

But the Employee Free Choice Act is fundamentally flawed, designed to force to employees into unions against their individual self-interest and to damage any businesses that resist unionization. There is no compromise that can flow from any version of the Employee Free Choice Act. A vote for cloture by Senator Specter would do a great disservice to his constituents and the nation’s economic vitality.

He also points to this quote from Greg Sargent: “It’s understandable that EFCA backers are psyched by Specter’s declaration today. But it seems worth keeping in mind that Specter has been known to, shall we say, tailor his message to his audience.” Our emphasis.

The positive spin: at least this summer hasn’t been boring. The takeaway: as we’ve said before, EFCA is not dead and we can’t stop fighting until it is.

* It’s worth remembering: Sen. Specter’s words didn’t curry much favor — he lost (in dramatic fashion) the Netroots Nation straw poll to Democratic challenger Joe Sestak.

Tags: Sen. Arlen Specter