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Card-check bill spurs familiar fight

Card-check bill spurs familiar fight

WASHINGTON —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Opponents of the reintroduced measure, however, said the EFCA is facing strong headwinds in Congress despite support from President Barack Obama and many legislators who vowed to back the bill during the 2008 elections. This marks the fourth time the bill has been introduced. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Opposed strongly by the foodservice industry and other business groups, the card-check bill would give workers the ability to form a union through either card check or an election by secret ballot. Foes of the measure claim the proposed law would subject employees to coercion by union organizers and make it difficult for business owners to respond to an organizing campaign. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“This doesn’t promote fairness in union organizing,” said David French, vice president of government relations for the International Franchise Association. “It promotes certainty.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

The latest version of the card-check measure was reintroduced in the Senate by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and in the House by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

The House of Representatives passed the bill, which many say would help organized labor step up unionizing efforts in restaurants and other businesses, in 2007 by a vote of 241 to 185. It failed to pass in the Senate, though, where it won only 51 of the 60 votes needed. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

This time around, association officials believe the measure faces even more of an uphill battle, largely because of the state of the economy and despite the fact that the Democratic party, which traditionally supports labor issues, has a larger majority in the U.S. House and Senate. The current House bill has 223 co-sponsors, versus 230 in 2007. The new Senate version has 40 co-sponsors, compared with 46 originally. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“When you consider the November elections, you would have thought the numbers would have increased, not decreased,” said Brendan Flanagan, the NRA’s vice president of federal relations. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

The IFA’s French agreed that support for the measure has eroded since it was introduced in 2007. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“Even [lawmakers] who are co-sponsoring the measure said they have reservations about it,” he said. “I think the bill is struggling to find love on Capitol Hill.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Scott Vinson, vice president of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, said the large wave of opposition the bill has generated has made some conservative and moderate Democrats less than eager to see the measure come to a final vote. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“This is an extremely controversial bill,” Vinson said. “It’s going to trigger the biggest battle we’ve seen in years in Congress.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

While Republicans and business interests have threatened a “dogfight” in Congress over the measure, proponents of the measure maintain that EFCA would aid working families and help get the economy back on track. They also insist that the current election process favors employers, who can reject workers’ decision to organize through majority sign-up and force them into a secret-ballot election. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“Americans’ wages have been stagnating or falling for the past decade,” said Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, in a statement. “For far too long, we have seen corporate CEOs take care of themselves and shareholders at the expense of workers. If we want a fair and sustainable recovery from this economic crisis, we must give workers the ability to stand up for themselves and once again share in the prosperity they help to create.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Opponents, however, say the measure would put employers at a disadvantage. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“Owners would be bound and gagged and locked in the storeroom until after the vote,” French said. “It would make the employer a bystander.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

In addition, the bill would stiffen penalties against employers that illegally fire or discriminate against workers for their union activity during an organizing drive. The measure also would provide for binding arbitration if a first contract is not agreed to after 120 days of union recognition. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Passing card-check legislation is a stated priority of organized labor, which helped Barack Obama win the presidency and the Democrats strengthen their majority in Congress. But while Obama often has said he would sign a card-check bill if Congress passed it, some observers believe he has begun to backpedal somewhat given the problems with the economy. Earlier this year, The Washington Post had reported that he “gave his support for legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize, but he said there may be other ways to achieve the same goal without angering businesses.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, an Obama supporter and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns International Dairy Queen, called the potential passage of the card-check bill “a mistake.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“I think the secret ballot’s pretty important in the country,” Buffet told CNBC recently. “I’m against card check, to make a perfectly flat statement.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

In a bid to make their voices heard, hundreds of supporters of organized labor stormed Capitol Hill March 9-10 hoping to garner congressional support for the measure. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

The SEIU hosted protests outside of eight major corporate industry associations, including the NRA’s headquarters. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

“About 40 SEIU members picketed for five or 10 minutes,” Flanagan said. “It was peaceful and brief. We look at it as an acknowledgement of the industry’s effort [to defeat the measure]. The type of intimidation we’re concerned about in the EFCA was in full display. With the reintroduction of the bill, we will once again reinitiate a grassroots push from the industry.” —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

The SEIU did not return phone calls seeking comment. —One day after members of the powerful Service Employees International Union picketed briefly outside the National Restaurant Association’s headquarters here, lawmakers on Capitol Hill revived the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the union card-check bill.

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