This Sunday the blogosphere was abuzz with news that Democratic Senator Clair McCaskill told George Stephanopoulos that the unions didn’t have enough votes to pass EFCA. Of course that’s huge news, but there is more to her appearance on This Week than just conceding that EFCA is unpopular.
In describing the bill, McCaskill said: “There is no secret ballot to get rid of a union, but there is a requirement of that for people to be able to organize. And to me, that seems unfair.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxzU4PyW8BA[/youtube]
Wait a minute. Just the opposite is true. Under EFCA’s rules, unions could use card check to form a union, but they’d still have to use a secret ballot to decertify a union. (Sec. 9(e))
So you’re right Senator. That is unfair. Does that mean you’ll add your name to the list of Democrats that don’t support EFCA?
Read the complete transcript after the jump.
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Another issue that’s going to come up before the end of this year — and we only have a couple of minutes left — Mr. Donohue, you’re going to spend about $10 million, I’ve read, to try to defeat this Employee Free Choice Act, which would give unions the ability to organize at a plant if they could a majority of the people at the plant to sign up.
And, Senator McCaskill, let me bring you in on this. Is there anything you can say, you believe, right now, that’ll convince Mr. Donohue to back off that? And do you have the votes to get this done this year?
SEN. MCCASKILL: I’m not sure that we have the votes, and I have no hope of backing Mr. Donohue off. I would say that I think it would be fair that we have a secret ballot for decertification of unions. Right now, businesses can go with a card check.
There is no secret ballot to get rid of a union, but there is a requirement of that for people to be able to organize. And to me, that seems unfair. Let’s — what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Let’s put people on a level playing field and have both businesses have to have a secret ballot to decertify. Until they do that, I’m not sure they’ve got a lot of room to complain.
