Unions Still Claim Confidence In EFCA Passing

Many people have speculated that EFCA is as good as dead for 2010 as Scott Brown became the 41st Republican, giving the GOP enough votes to filibuster any legislation should they all vote together (once he is seated). There also appears to be little sentiment on Capitol Hill- especially among Democrats in difficult re-election battles- to deal with controversial measures such as the Employee Free Choice Act.

Clearly, incumbents would much rather have issues like a jobs bill or tax cuts to run on rather than something like EFCA. But, that does not mean labor will just sit back and accept what appears to be political reality.

Over the weekend, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka predicted that the EFCA will pass this year. Trumka argued that the bill will be good for the economy by raising wages, therefore giving Americans more disposable income. Trumka’s comments may be more wishful thinking than insider knowledge.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who heads the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and has been a longtime supporter of the bill, said that the future of the bill is uncertain. He said talks for a compromise are ongoing (and have been for the past year), but that he doesn’t know if a vote will take place after the Massachusetts special election.

Harkin said that he still believes something needs to be done, and a bill may come up “this spring” or “before summer” but that is “just a possibility.” The Senator, however, could not commit to anything and didn’t offer any predictions as bold as Trumka’s.