‘Card check’ bill on the way
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
March 10, 2009
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| On Tuesday, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., above, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., are expected to introduce the legislation in the Senate and House, respectively. And according to leadership aides, it will be up to the Senate to pass the bill before the House considers it. (AP photo) |
House and Senate Democrats will introduce a bill to ease rules on labor union elections as soon as Tuesday, thrusting Congress into one of the biggest battles ever between business and labor and putting moderates in the hot seat as no other piece of legislation has this year.
On Monday, investment guru Warren Buffett announced on CNBC that he is opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to bypass the secret ballot and require only signatures on a petition to organize a company’s work force.
“I think the secret ballot is pretty important in this country,” Buffett said.
Democrats, including President Barack Obama, had pledged last year to pass the bill quickly for the labor unions that helped them win big last November.
But three months into the new administration and the new Congress, Democratic lawmakers are watching the issue “fester,” as one Senate aide put it, while they struggle to find enough support to pass it.
Business groups and other opponents, who call the vote-by-petition practice “card check,” have grown more vocal in their opposition, while the unions have intensified their pressure on Congress to get the bill to Obama's desk.
On Tuesday, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., are expected to introduce the legislation in the Senate and House, respectively. And according to leadership aides, it will be up to the Senate to pass the bill before the House considers it.
But Democrats have indicated that so far, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., lacks the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to floor.
Union officials say congressional leaders assure them that they can round up the votes, but their success depends on some hypotheticals.
Democrats control 58 votes in the Senate, including Kennedy, whose attendance has been unpredictable this year because of his battle with brain cancer. Democrats are counting on Kennedy to be well enough to vote. They are also hoping that Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., will cross party lines and support a vote to move the bill to the floor, as he did during the last unsuccessful attempt to pass the bill in 2007.
But Specter is facing a tough re-election battle that just got harder last week when Patrick Toomey signaled he will challenge Specter in the Republican primary. Specter beat Toomey by fewer than 2 percentage points in a 2004 primary and Toomey vigorously opposes the bill, which could force Specter to do the same.
Reid must also worry about his fellow Democrats, several of whom have indicated they are undecided and want to put off a vote until the economy recovers.
Undecided Democratic senators include Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and newcomer Michael Bennet of Colorado.
“Senator Nelson feels that the economic issues before Congress are awfully important,” Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson said. “He would prefer not to see it up for debate soon.”
Union officials say they understand it will be a struggle.
“But with the support of President Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate, we feel confident we'll get there,” said Christy Setzer, a spokeswoman for the Service Employees International Union.
sferrechio@dcexaminer.com
