Unions Drop Card Check

Jul 17, 2009 6 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

WASHINGTON – Organized labor is nearing a deal to salvage legislation that could aid the union movement, but it had to drop “card check”—a key component of the original bill that would allow workers to form a union by signing cards instead of holding a secret ballot vote.

A Democratic official familiar with compromise talks on a bill to make forming union easier says union leaders are willing to drop the politically volatile “card check” plan to win over wavering Senate Democrats.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are still ongoing.

A half dozen Democratic lawmakers have spent weeks in closed-door meetings trying to work out a compromise version of the Employee Free Choice Act that can muster the 60 votes in the Senate needed to overcome a GOP filibuster.

That process took on more urgency last week as Minnesota Democrat Al Franken was sworn into the Senate, providing Democrats 60 seats when two Democratic-leaning independents are included.

The goal is to win over a handful of Democrats—like Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Dianne Feinstein of California—who have said they have problems with card check and other parts of the bill. Those lawmakers and others have faced enormous pressure from business groups vehemently opposed to the bill.

Card check would allow employees to form a union as soon as a majority of workers sign cards supporting it. Under current law, an employer can insist that workers vote by secret ballot.

While giving up on card check is a setback for organized labor, a reworked bill would still offer a major overhaul of labor laws to help unions sign up more members. The bill calls for binding arbitration if a new union and management can’t agree on a first contract and stiffens penalties on businesses that threaten or intimidate workers trying to form a union.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been leading the compromise talks with five other Democratic lawmakers—including newly converted Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania—in hopes of reaching an agreement that could get 60 votes.

Harkin spokeswoman Kate Cyrul would say only that “negotiations continue, but we don’t have agreement on anything until we have agreement on everything.”

The talks allow unions to get a vote on something that can pass and achieve some goals.

Businesses groups that have spent millions on ads and lobbying campaigns railing against card check say its removal would not change their position. While card check has dominated the debate, business leaders say they were always more concerned about binding arbitration.

“We would remain adamantly opposed the bill regardless of whether the card check provisions remain in or out,” said Randel Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vice president on labor issues.

“We’ve always made clear in every letter and meeting on hill that the arbitration provisions are completely unacceptable to us,” Johnson said.

Another labor official, also requesting anonymity, said unions are comfortable that other parts of the bill would help unions level the playing field by allowing workers to organize without fear of threats and intimidation and end the stalling tactics some companies use to delay entering into collective bargaining agreements.

Details of the agreement were first reported in The New York Times.

Labor advocates say binding arbitration is needed because almost half of unions that are recognized after a vote still don’t have contracts two years after being certified.

The current bill calls for binding arbitration if a new union and management can’t agree on a first contract within 120 days. Business groups fear it would allow a government arbitrator with little knowledge of a company to set the terms of contracts on workers and businesses, driving up costs.

One compromise being discussed is to adopt baseball-style “final offer” arbitration, where both sides submit offers and the arbitrator picks one package offer or the other. The Democratic official said a compromise could extend the deadline to one year.

Other changes under discussion include allowing union elections to occur if 30 percent of workers sign cards, shortening the wait for elections to 8-10 days instead of the current period of two months and allowing union organizers greater access to worksites to help persuade employees to vote for a union.