Employee Free Choice Act Temporarily Stalls In Senate But Is Likely To Resurface

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is the most significant labor bill in over 40 years.  Among other things, the proposed bill would effectively eliminate the current secret ballot process for union organization campaigns in favor of a "card check" process, thereby making it much easier for unions to organize.  (See our earlier June 2007 Client Alert, The "Employee Free Choice Act" Could Revolutionize Union Organizing Campaigns, available on our website at www.walterhav.com , for more details on the EFCA).

By a very narrow margin, 51 to 48, the Senate yesterday (June 26, 2007) failed to gather the 60 procedural “cloture” votes needed to send the EFCA to the Senate floor for a yes or no vote on the bill itself.  Note that the cloture vote is not a vote on the merits of the bill but is instead a procedural attempt to advance the bill past an expected Republican filibuster. The bill, which has already passed the House of Representatives, is likely to resurface as the 2008 elections approach. 

Indeed, despite yesterday’s procedural failure, union officials and EFCA sponsors believe that the slim cloture vote margin — which actually indicates that a majority of Senators voted to have an up-or-down vote on the EFCA — signifies increased momentum for the bill and are optimistic about its eventual passage.  Union officials have further indicated that they will make an election issue out of yesterday's vote and have hinted at retaliation at the polls for the 48 senators who opposed an up-or-down vote on the merits of the bill. 

Due to the significance of the Employee Free Choice Act, we will alert you to any further developments. 

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