Do We Have Any More Clarification on EFCA?

EFCA’s future has been all over the map lately, and as the AFL-CIO annual conference wraps up it looks like there are still more questions than answers.

Seeking to rally labor to his side for his 2010 re-election, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) made the bold announcement yesterday that he has worked to reach a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act that has 60 supporters in the Senate. Specter’s EFCA looks like this:

- No card check, but an expedited election process following the collection of authorization cards
- Unions would receive guaranteed access to employees if employers hold mandatory meetings
- Mandatory arbitration similar to Major League Baseball where a mediator chooses between the “last best offer” each side offers
- Penalties would triple what they are today for companies that violate labor law (unions are exempt)

Key Senators such as Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska have not confirmed their support for this bill. Specter said he met with them and they gave him the “impression” they would vote for cloture. Apparently that is how Specter came up with the 60 supposed supporters.

That said, it looks like labor was a little surprised and they have not endorsed it:

Incoming AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said card check legislation was still in play. The chairman of AFL-CIO's organizing committee, Larry Cohen, said that until there were 60 Democratic-controlled votes in the Senate, “We don't even want to finalize a bill, because who are we discussing it with?”

It looks like they won’t be saying much until there is a replacement for the late Ted Kennedy in the Senate. Of course, the chance of Kennedy’s successor supporting EFCA stands around 99.9 percent.