Michael Barone had an op-ed over the weekend focusing on the less-publicized but equally devastating portion of EFCA: binding arbitration. Barone worries that unions may have a “fallback position” by scrapping card check and focusing on passing a bill with mandatory arbitration.

The American public, Barone argues, is not as familiar with mandatory arbitration as they are with secret ballots. He goes onto detail the negative ramifications of having federal bureaucrat impose wages, fringe benefits, and work conditions on employers and employees.

And if there was any doubt how this would adversely affect the economy, Barone points out that the auto industry is a perfect example of how a union’s fringe benefits (re: retiree health care and other legacy costs) and thousands of pages of work rules have run Detroit into the ground. Remember, the UAW just “conceded” their Easter Monday holiday and only taking overtime pay after working 40 hours a week.