LITTLE ROCK, AR (Feb. 10, 2010) – On Tuesday, two Senate Democrats, including Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln, cast a defining vote to block the nomination of long-time labor lawyer Craig Becker to a seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Becker, a lawyer for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, was defeated by a 52-33 vote, far short of the 60 votes needed to proceed with the nomination.
Becker is one of many labor advocates who would strongly support EFCA, legislation that will deny workers’ rights to a secret ballot election when determining union representation. However, Tuesday’s vote indicates that EFCA, aka “Card-Check” is losing momentum.
“With the current tenuous economic climate, this is not the time for policies or personnel that work to stifle the rights of businesses and employees,” said Randy Zook, Arkansas State Chamber president. “We cannot afford to impose additional laws and restrictions that would ultimately undermine the workplace. On behalf of the Arkansas business community and its employees, I thank Senator Lincoln for protecting jobs by opposing the nomination of Becker to the NLRB.”
Glenn Spencer, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s work-force freedom initiative, said the vote reflected opposition to Becker’s “out of-the-mainstream” views about the rights of employers and opposition to the union-backed bill (EFCA).
Spencer said a recess appointment of Becker “would send the wrong signal given the clear lack of support expressed by the Senate.”
President Obama has been called on to make a recess appointment for the Senate to consider two other nominees for the Board.
About the Employee Free Choice Act
In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA), and the U.S. Senate considered identical legislation that would change the National Labor Relations Act by:
• Eliminating the rights of employees to an NLRB supervised secret ballot election about whether a union will represent them or not.
• Substituting a “card-check” process whereby unions can get cards signed at work, at an employee’s home or online
• Certifying a union if over 50% of workers sign card-checks, without a secret ballot election
• Denying employers’ rights to refuse unfavorable proposals during collective bargaining negotiations
This deceptively named proposal would:
• Overturn 70 years of precedent by taking away workers’ freedom of a government-supervised vote
• Eliminate workers’ secret ballots and replace them with card-checks
• Trample workers’ privacy by forcing them to publicly declare their support for or opposition to a union, and publicly sign a binding contract without knowing the consequences
• Expose workers to intimidation, deception and coercion
For more information: www.yoursecretballot.com
