Senate Hearing Renews Debate on Employee Free Choice Act

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_025270.asp

Senate Hearing Renews Debate on Employee Free Choice Act

By Bill Leonard

After stalling in June 2007, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) might have gained new traction on April 2, 2008, when the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education held a hearing to examine the fairness of union elections in the workplace.

The legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to change the way workers choose how to become part of a union. The proposed measure would end secret-ballot workplace elections and would allow union representation to be decided through a “card-check process.”

Although the hearing was not scheduled to be a direct examination of the Senate version of the EFCA (S. 1041), it became clear from the outset that the hearing would focus on the legislation. During his opening remarks, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chair of the subcommittee, mentioned the EFCA and stated that he was a “strong supporter” of the measure.

“In order to rebuild the economic security for the middle class of America, we have to rebuild strong and vibrant unions,” Harkin said. “And to build stronger unions, we must reduce the unfair barriers to organizing.”

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill (H.R. 800) in March 2007. A series of cloture votes on the measure held by the Senate three months later failed to curtail debate and advance the legislation—in effect, tabling the bill.

Harkin decided to schedule a subcommittee hearing after receiving a request from the subcommittee’s ranking minority member, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Specter stated that he made the request out of his concern that the processes for approving union representation were no longer working and were unfair.

FULL story at link.

[katherine20]

1. EFCA

This is one of the most important issues facing Congress. We need a president who will sign this bill.