Meanwhile back at the ranch…
This would’ve been much bigger news if not for the Sotomayor hearings — Kevin Drum notices that moderate Senate Democrats have excised the card-check provision from the Employee Free Choice Act. From the NYT:
A half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision of a bill that would have made it easier to organize workers.
The so-called card-check provision — which senators decided to scrap to help secure a filibuster-proof 60 votes — would have required employers to recognize a union as soon as a majority of workers signed cards saying they wanted a union. Currently, employers can insist on a secret-ballot election, a higher hurdle for unions.
The abandonment of card check was another example of the power of moderate Democrats to constrain their party’s more liberal legislative efforts. Though the Democrats have a 60-40 vote advantage in the Senate, and President Obama supports the measure, several moderate Democrats opposed the card-check provision as undemocratic.
Count me as a fan of secret ballot elections, for pretty much anything.
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