The Employee Free Choice Act - Races to Watch on Election Day
Besides determining who our next president will be, November 4 will also play a huge role in determining the future of labor relations in this country. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is pending in Congress. The bill, which was co-sponsored by Barack Obama, would make sweeping pro-union changes to the National Labor Relations Act and will change labor relations in the United States if enacted.
If the EFCA is enacted in its current form, representative elections would be eliminated and unions would have automatic recognition/certification simply by presenting valid signed authorization cards from over 50% of the bargaining unit. Most believe that union representation in the United States would skyrocket based on this change alone. In Canada, where five of the ten provinces provide for card majority recognition, union membership is almost triple the rate of the United States (depending on the survey used, most estimate Canadian unionization rates at around 33% and the United States around 12%, with almost half of the United States number coming from the public sector).
The EFCA would also change the bargaining process. The EFCA would require parties to meet and begin collective bargaining within ten (10) days of a certified union's request to do so. If the parties fail to reach agreement after ninety (90) days of bargaining, either party may request mediation. If the parties do not reach agreement within thirty (30) days of the mediation request, the collective bargaining agreement shall be determined by interest arbitration and the initial contract would be imposed for two (2) full years, without any ratification from the employees or the employer.
Finally, the EFCA ratchets up penalties against employers without any corresponding increase for unions that violate the terms of the National Labor Relations Act.
The House of Representatives already passed the EFCA by a vote of 241 to 185. 51 Senators support the bill. All Democrats have voted for the bill and were joined by Republican Senator Arlen Spector. All other Republicans, including John McCain, voted against it. Sixty (60) votes are needed for cloture to avoid filibuster of the bill. Thus, in order for the EFCA to pass through the Senate, 9 more senators must vote for the bill. Whether the bill passes through Congress will thus turn on one issue: How many Republican Senators are voted out of office and replaced with Democrats?
There are currently ten states where it is reasonably possible that this can happen. Therefore, if you are interested in figuring out whether the EFCA will become a reality, besides watching the Presidential returns, you will want to keep track of the following Senate races next Tuesday:
| State | Republican Incumbent |
| New Hampshire | John Sununu |
| North Carolina | Elizabeth Dole |
| Colorado | Wayne Allred |
| Oregon | Gordon Smith |
| Georgia | Saxby Chambliss |
| Mississippi | Roger Wicker |
| Minnesota | Norm Coleman |
| Virginia | John Warner |
| New Mexico | Pete Domenici |
| Alaska | Ted Stevens |
If nine of these ten seats turn over to Democratic senators, or there is a major upset in another jurisdiction leading to a Republican seat turning over to a Democrat, it is very likely that the EFCA will pass through Congress in its current form or in a very similar form. If it passes, there is little question that Barack Obama will sign the bill and that John McCain will veto it.
This election will not only determine whether we have our first African-American President or first female Vice-President, but will also determine the future of labor relations in the United States. Catch up on your sleep this weekend because Tuesday may be a very late night.