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The Hill : Democrats will likely take up the Employee Free Choice Act when they return in 2009. Although the Senate will have a larger Democratic majority come this January, there is still a possibility that it will lack support from Democrats and Republicans alike. Two Associate Editors at The Hill, Michael Sandler and Ian Swanson discuss some of the issues surrounding the Employee Free Choice Act.
Michael Sandler : Why is this legislation so contentious?
Ian Swanson : Well business thinks if this bill passes it’s going to make it easier for labor unions, or workers to organize and form unions, and they don’t want that, because that will lead to higher wages. It’s the same reason labor wants the bill and looks at this like a once in a lifetime chance, or at least a once in a generation-time chance to move it. They think it’s a point in time when they can actually pass legislation that will help them increase their labor rules.
Michael Sandler : Now this legislation came up in 2007, it passed the house, but it got bogged down in the Senate where they need 60 votes to move contentious legislation across, is that right?
Ian Swanson : That’s right, they only got one Republican vote that year, Senator Arlen Spector. He did vote to move the bill forward. He said that didn’t mean he would necessarily vote for it when it came to a vote on the substance of the legislation.
