Former Democrat presidential candidate and South Dakota Senator George McGovern has an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal criticizing the compulsory arbitration provision in EFCA. McGovern has vocally opposed EFCA because of its effective elimination of the secret ballot, but he focuses this time on the consequences of compulsory arbitration.

McGovern objects to having a bureaucratic arbitrator, who “cannot be expected to understand the nuances specific to each business dispute, the competitive market position of the business, or the plethora of other factors unique to each case” decide the fate of both employees and employers. EFCA, McGovern argues, will disrupt the balance between employers and employees to bargain reasonably and in good faith.

The former senator goes on to highlight how workers lose their right to ratify their contract under EFCA’s compulsory arbitration terms. McGovern points out that  his post-political life experience with running his own business (a hotel) informed his judgment and opposition to, as he describes, “outsider taking control of basic management decisions that determine success or failure in a business where I had invested my life savings.” It’s doubtful that most of the legislators who support EFCA have had experience running their own business to be familiar with McGovern’s insight.