If the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) were human, it would be on life support. Few give it much hope of passage in the current Congress, especially with the much-misunderstood “card check” provision in place. But it isn’t dead, yet.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has threatened to put EFCA up for a vote by the full Senate. Why is that a threat? It puts some of EFCA’s Democratic Party opponents in a very uncomfortable position. Two of these — senators Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) and Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) — are up for re-election next year, and they’re both going to need Union support to win another term.
Last month, Specter jumped from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party to avoid near-certain defeat in the Republican primary next year. However, Specter may be challenged in the Democratic Senate primary by Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired Navy admiral serving his second term in the House. Especially if he gets the backing of Pennsylvania’s unions, Sestak would be a formidable opponent.
Specter’s history with EFCA is complex. He supported similar legislation in the past, but earlier this year announced he would support a filibuster to prevent a Senate vote on EFCA. It was assumed this position was a sop to Republicans. When he switched parties, however, Specter announced he would not change in position on EFCA.
More recently, however, Specter has made noises about supporting a compromise. There are reports he is working with Senator Harkin on such a compromise, but whether that compromise will leave “card check” intact is not known. The so-called “card check” provision would allow workers to organize a union with less interference from management.
Unions play an important role in workplace safety, another area in which Specter’s history is mixed. Specter has proposed limiting citizens’ rights to a jury trial by requiring that people suffering asbestos-related disease — usually contracted in the workplace — be compensated from a trust fund instead of in court. Opponents of the trust fund idea point out that this would put citizens at the mercy of a federal bureaucracy and that the funding levels proposed would not be enough to meet the needs of patients with asbestos-related disease.
Diseases associated with asbestos exposure include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.
Barbara O’Brien
May 26, 2009
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