Card-check bill back, but with fewer supporters

By Lisa Mascaro

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 | 2 a.m.

A much-anticipated bill that would make it easier for unions to organize was introduced Tuesday in Congress with fewer sponsors than when it arose two years ago, leaving even supporters saying the most heated legislation of the year may very well be modified.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he thinks the bill has enough support to pass. But the Employee Free Choice Act was unveiled with fewer supporters in the House and Senate than in 2007, even though Democrats have since expanded their majority in both chambers.

Both sides agree that lawmakers are moving more carefully now that President Barack Obama is in the White House and the bill has a greater chance of becoming law.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who is leading the bill through the Senate, said the legislation is not “absolutely written in stone,” and some good could come from debates ahead.

“There are negotiations going on now, a lot of talks, about certain modifications,” Harkin told reporters following a news conference and Senate hearing on the bill’s arrival.

Harkin said that among the “ideas floating around … some of them may have legs.”

The legislation is the top priority of organized labor and is being closely watched in Las Vegas, where unions have a strong presence in casinos on the Strip.

Often called card check, the bill would allow workers to form a union if a majority agree to do so by signing a card, rather than voting by secret ballot.

Most of the unionized casinos in Las Vegas allow this method of organizing, but the business community nationally is fiercely opposed to the bill, as is the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Republican Sen. John Ensign is among the bill’s chief opponents in Congress.

Businesses claim unions would intimidate workers under the card-check system, and demand costly concessions from management. They argue the bill would strip workers of the secret ballot.

Unions counter that secret ballots would remain an option, but workers could also organize by signing cards, as had been the system for years until Congress required ballot elections sought by the business community.

Unions claim management often uses the time it takes to hold an election to intimidate workers to persuade them to vote against unionizing.

Workers and businesses are fanning across Capitol Hill in a lobbying blitz. Among them is Alfredo Serrano, a registered nurse from Las Vegas, and other union members from Nevada.

Nevada Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus had been among Democrats to sign onto the bill somewhat late, after previously expressing support. Both are now co-sponsors.

Yet the battle remains in the Senate, where several Southern state Democrats who supported the bill in 2007 have yet to do so.

Among them is Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, who said he is working to see “if there’s any chance for some sort of compromise.”

Some of the ideas being floated to amend the bill would address provisions that have engendered opposition.

For example, the bill calls for mandatory arbitration hearings if workers choose to organize but labor and management then come to a standstill over the first contract. Businesses oppose the provision. Unions claim businesses have successfully stalled contracts for years by refusing to bargain in good faith.

The arbitration language could be modified to establish standards that would govern the proceedings.

Similarly, an amendment could ensure that certain small businesses are exempt from the legislation. Complaints have been raised that small businesses could face hardship if unionized.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, said while he would have difficulty supporting the bill as written, if modifications were made “then it’s a new bill and you take a look at it.”

Both Harkin and Democratic Rep. George Miller, who is leading the bill in the House, say support remains strong and they have the votes needed for passage.

Across the aisle, Ensign called the bill payback to the unions that supported Democrats in the last election and vowed: “I will not rest until this bill is dead.”

The Republican campaign arm in the Senate criticized Reid’s support for the bill.