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March 10, 2009
Roundtalbe on Card Check Legislation
Special Report With Bret Baier
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT.: Some people give all kinds of reasons why they're opposed to this legislation. In my view, the real reason is that big business does not want to make sure that workers earn a decent wage.
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER, R-TENN.: In my view, this legislation we're considering today is the most radical piece of legislation before the congress. It's called the Employee Free Choice Act. It ought to be called the employee no choice act, because it takes away the secret ballot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: It was heated in that hearing today as the Employee Free Choice Act was officially introduced in the House and Senate. The bill would essentially reform labor laws, allowing workers to form unions by simply signing a card or petition, removing an employer's right to demand a secret ballot, increasing unions' ability to organize, much easier.
We're back with the panel. Kirsten, where does this go from here?
POWERS: I think the question is -- it looks like it's not going to go forward in the current form that it's in, and the question is what form does it end up in?
The Senate support has started to peel off. Some people, Blanche Lincoln has come out and been pretty critical about it. Mary Landrieu, Senator Pryor, Senator Specter is becoming very squishy about it, and he voted for it in 2007. So, you know, and what Pelosi has done is she has basically punted it over to the Senate and said we're not going to vote on this until the Senate votes because I don't think she wants to have her members have to go up and vote for this if it's going to not make it in the Senate.
So right now I think the answer is we don't really know, but it's unlikely, I think, that it will move forward in its current form.
BAIER: Charles, they're indicating, Democratic leaders are, that there may be some compromise needed to get this bill through.
KRAUTHAMMER: And that's because there are two elements here. The one everyone knows about is essentially the abolition of the secret ballot.
But there is another provision which imposes arbitration on unions and management if after the shop is unionized there is no agreement within four months. And that would be a really radical change. It would be a mediator appointed by the feds. It could be a government employee, but it's a huge intrusion of the government in labor relations.
So I suspect there will be a compromise. They might offer to drop either the arbitration or the card check and the abolition of the secret ballot. And I would be worried about it, because either of those provisions would be really deadly.
BAIER: Fred, there is going to be a push back on this once it hits a vote, I mean gets up that far, even if it gets that far.
BARNES: Right now, as Tom Harkin said earlier on the show, when they bring it to the floor, it's going to have 60 votes and they can have get cloture. Well, that's true. But if they don't have 60 votes lined up, they're not going to bring it to the floor.
And they don't have 60 votes now. They probably have 53 or 54, and those Democrats who were mentioned who are squishy on it, they are not hard no votes. Labor can still get them, but obviously they won't get them in the next few months. It will take a while. The economy is working against it.
But, look, one of the compromises that has been proposed is, OK, we'll have a secret election, but the moment that enough union -- enough workers sign up for a union we'll have a snap election. It will be real quick before the company can organize and campaign against having a union. I don't think a business will accept that.
The truth is the business community has not been so worked up on an issue like this in years and they are against both parts of it really fervently.
BAIER: Kirsten, quickly, how hard will the White House push on this?
POWERS: I think that they have been very tepid, to say the least. The support that they -- it's a campaign promise that's labor's biggest issue, and I think they have said that they would do it.
