Sen. Lincoln to oppose card check

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., announced Monday she will not support the Employee Free Choice Act, a move that now makes it almost certain the pro-union legislation will not see a U.S. Senate vote in the near future.

EFCA was filed Mar. 10 by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The act — commonly referred to as “card check” — seeks to make it easier for unions to organize. The most controversial part of the Act would allow the designation of a union if a majority of employees sign pro-union authorization cards. Once the National Labor Relations Board validates the signatures, a union is created and collective bargaining with the employer begins.

Lincoln, vague on her stance in order to straddle her business base in Arkansas and her party leadership on Capitol Hill, was given plenty of political cover on her decision with the recent announced opposition by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Also, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Mar. 24 he would oppose card check. (The City Wire has sought comment from Lincoln’s office, and officials with the Arkansas AFL-CIO.)

David Olive, founder of Catalyst Partners, a Washington D.C.-based government relations and public affairs firm, and former chief of staff for then-U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., suggests Lincoln might have been better served opposing card check before the opposition from Specter and Feinstein.

“Senator Lincoln’s decision may have come too late for many in the Arkansas business community who wanted to see her show more courage in standing up to the national trade unions. At least she came down on the side most Arkansans think is the right one,” Olive noted.

Senate Democrats will need 60 votes to move the bill to a vote. Without Specter, Feinstein and Lincoln, the Democrats (with only 59 members in the 100-member Senate) are unlikely to find enough votes to seek cloture.

“NFIB Arkansas is proud that Senator Blanche Lincoln has declared her opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act,” NFIB Arkansas Director Sylvester Smith said in a statement. “By standing up to Big Labor, Lincoln is protecting the sacred American principles of the secret ballot. We applaud Senator Lincoln for her bold decision and hope that Senator Pryor will follow suit.”

Link here to a broad review of the proposed federal “Card Check” legislation.