As David Freddoso notes below, Senator Specter is back in the EFCA saddle, searching for a "compromise" that doesn't eliminate the secret ballot in union elections. The alternatives most frequently discussed include "quickie elections" plus some form of equal access for unions to employers' premises/employees for purposes of organizing. As I've mentioned, these alternatives are hardly an improvement on card check.

 

One would think that any discussions concerning an EFCA "compromise" would include those senators who voted against EFCA the last time it was introduced, but it appears only those who supported EFCA are involved in the negotiations. Consequently, EFCA opponents get little information about the iterations of EFCA currently being considered.

 

Nonetheless, leaks and rumors abound. Employers should be alert for any EFCA "compromise" that includes the expanded use of mail-ballot elections. (The overwhelming majority of union elections are conducted by an NLRB agent at the workplace, using a voting booth, ballot box, and strict procedures to preserve secrecy and the integrity of the ballot).

 

EFCA supporters will contend that because mail-ballot union elections ostensibly preserve the secret ballot, the concerns of those who oppose card check should be assuaged.

 

Don't buy it. For reasons I'll get into in the near future, mail ballots retain many of the same infirmities as card check. The benefit of such a proposal to EFCA proponents is that they no longer have to defend the EFCA provision that polls most poorly: card check's elimination of the secret ballot.