Straight from The Union Advocate Intern

Rose Friedman is an intern at The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. So straight from the lowest union flunky on the totem pole is today's Headline: Rumors fly, clock ticks on Employee Free Choice Act

The article demonstrates how bad the New York Times article (Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions) by Steve Greenhouse, hurt the EFCA's chance of passing prior to congress going on recess this week. The article reported, "a half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision (Card-Check) of a bill (EFCA) that would have made it easier to organize workers."

"What we have is a New York Times article," says Candace Lund, organizing director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO, "not a bill." Rose reports that the AFL-CIO is asking its supporters not to believe rumors of a compromise. It is still focused on getting the full bill to the Senate for a vote...perhaps even in late September.

According to labor, any compromise must contain these 3 central values in the Act:

1) Easier path toward unionization for workers or Card-Check

2) Ramped-up penalties for employers who use illegal anti-union tactics

3) Mandatory contracts within a year of unionization

"If the compromise doesn't have those core principles, we'll just have to go ahead with the vote," Lund says.

Josh Goldstein of American Rights at Work apparently agrees stating, "In our organization, a comprise EFCA bill will be judged on the fundamental principles of the EFCA. We are still advocating the bill the way it."

With Congress going on recess this week and two major battles awaiting their return: Healthcare Reform and Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation odds are good there will be no September vote. So when, who knows.

My advice is to stop guessing when the EFCA will pass or even what form will the EFCA pass in. Instead take advantage of the chaos and the gift that all companies and their employees have been given. What gift? The gift of time. Time to be proactive instead of reactive. Time to communicate your position to your employees. Time to guide and educate your Supervisors and Managers. Time to develop a comprehensive labor strategy that will keep your company and employees union free now and whenever the EFCA passes. With or without the help of your intern, simply sign up for "5 Days to a Comprehensive Labor Relations Strategy."