Employee Free Choice Act Compromise? Feinstein withdraws her support of EFCA

Employee Free Choice/ EFCAPrwireNews

EFCA: Feinstein withdraws her support for The Employee Free Choice Act - This Now Opens a Door for Compromise!

La Times Reports that on Friday Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she would seek alternative legislation that was less divisive. Feinstein, a past sponsor of the act, cited the flailing economy as a reason.



With Sens. Specter and Feinstein withdrawing their support, and the threat of a Republican filibuster, backers of the pro-union provision may have to consider less divisive alternatives.



"We knew all along that this bill would be amended. It seems clear now we'll have to look at some changes to get to the floor," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a cosponsor of the legislation.



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Here's how Roll Call saw the lay of the land:

Democratic aides said that should a compromise be reached, it will likely end up somewhere between the card check bill as it's currently written and an alternative union organizing proposal floated by Starbucks Corp., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Whole Foods Market Inc. That plan would retain the use of secret ballots when workers decide to unionize and would not include binding arbitration provisions. It would, however, include a number of other provisions, including allowing unions access to employees during off-work hours and requiring a fixed date for elections.

The alternative has been publicly criticized by Harkin and other pro-labor Democrats as being unacceptable. But privately Democrats acknowledged it was the first sign of movement from the business community that a compromise may be possible.

Democrats predicted they would likely use the existing card check legislation as the underlying bill, with any major changes being made through amendments on the floor.

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Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, EFCA Copromise, EFCA, Free Choice Act, Free Choice Act Compromise, Labor Union, Sen.Specter, Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Tom Harkin