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Senator Specter reverses stance on EFCA, cites sluggish economy

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) has announced his intention to vote against cloture on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), essentially guaranteeing a successful Republican filibuster of the measure. When the bill last reached the Senate, Specter voted with the Democrats to cut off debate on the measure and bring it to a vote. The only Republican to do so, Specter's defection practically ensures that EFCA, one of President Obama's top legislative priorities, will once again not receive an up or down vote.

In a statement on the Senate floor, Specter named the sluggish economy as the main reason for his vote, citing the oft-repeated employer complaint that passage of EFCA would result in job cuts, not job creation. He also repeated the anti-EFCA talking point that the card-check provision will end secret ballot elections, which he described as "the cornerstone of how contests are decided in a democratic society," despite the fact that the bill, as written, does not end the secret election process, but rather offers an additional method of selecting a union.

Specter also referenced concerns over the compulsory arbitration provision as a reason for his decision. The provision would force parties to arbitration if an agreement is not reached within 120 days. Specter said the provision could force employers to accept an unpalatable deal, upending the Wagner Act's principal that employers are liable only for deals to which they agree.

Despite his stated intention, Specter held out the possibility that he might, at some future date, vote for EFCA. Specter stated that the best way to address Labor's valid concerns is through "amendments to the [National Labor Relations Act] NLRA" and, in an appendix to his statement, Specter laid out proposed amendments. These include establishing tighter timetables for elections and challenges to them, adding unfair labor practices to address concerns about voter intimidation, increasing penalties and requiring the parties to begin bargaining within 21 days of a union certification. The Senator stated that, should these proposals prove insufficient to arrest the decline in Labor's bargaining power, he could conceivably vote for EFCA at that time.

Specters stance was widely praised by many in the anti-EFCA movement. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace issued a statement thanking Specter for his "courageous stand." Similarly, the anti-EFCA "Save Our Secret Ballot" lauded Specter's decision, but cautioned that, while "Card check may be dead in this Congress... we still must push ahead... to effectively kill the idea permanently."

Others were less complimentary of Specter's new stand. Anna Burger, the chairman of the union coalition Change to Win, said only that "The Employee Free Choice Act is a vital component to restoring our economy. We will continue to work... to pass this critical legislation." Doug Stafford, the Vice-President of the National Right to Work Committee greeted the announcement with skepticism, and suggested that Specter's willingness to potentially reconsider EFCA and his proposed NLRA reforms indicated that Specter's change of heart may not be lasting. Specter's 2004 primary opponent, Pat Toomey, piled on, saying that the Senator's vote was merely a response to "a threat in the Republican primary [in 2010]."

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