U.S. Senate: '60 is the New 50 - When it Comes to Pro-Worker Legislation, a Simple Majority Isn’t

When the U.S. Supreme Court told Lilly Ledbetter she'd missed her chance to sue for 20 years of pay discrimination at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, where men doing the same supervisory work made at least $6,500 a year more than she did, lawmakers in Washington stepped in.

Democrats introduced the Fair Pay Act of 2007, a relatively simple bill to fix the hole in the law that had trapped Ledbetter: By the time she found out she was earning significantly less, the 180-day deadline to file a lawsuit had long passed — a clock that started ticking when she got her first discriminatory paycheck.

The bill passed the House and then got majority, bipartisan support in the Senate — 56 votes.

So why isn't it the law today?

Just like the pro-worker Employee Free Choice Act that CWA is fighting so hard to pass, the Fair Pay Act didn't have the 60 Senate votes — the "super majority" — needed for what's call "cloture." Cloture shuts off a filibuster and releases the bill for a vote.

"Without 60 votes for cloture, a bill goes nowhere," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "That's why American workers need more than a simple majority, 51 votes, in the Senate and why CWA and the rest of the labor movement and our many allies are putting so much time and energy into states with competitive Senate races this fall. We can and will elect a Democratic House and a Democratic president, but unless we have 60 pro-worker votes in the U.S. Senate, we will face many of the same roadblocks we've faced for the last eight years."

California Senator Barbara Boxer summed it up in bumper-sticker form in her speech at the Democratic National Convention. "When it comes to the United States Senate," she said, "60 is the new 50."

CWA members are working hard to help pro-worker candidates gain seats in the U.S. Senate. They include on the left, Oregon's Jeff Merkley, at far right, gets an an endorsement from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Supporters (center) rally for Kay Hagan of North Carolina. CWA Minnesota State Council president, Al Franken of Minnesota, pictured on the right, at a CWA Local 7200 picnic with Tim Lovaasen.

Currently, the Senate is split down the middle. Of 100 senators, 49 are Democrats and 49 are Republicans. Two senators, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, are Independents who caucus with the Democrats. Vice President Dick Cheney casts tie-breaking votes. In the sharply divided chamber, Cheney's votes have created new tax breaks for the rich and slashed billions from programs for America's poor.

Another pro-worker bill that didn't get cloture earlier this year was the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, which called for tax incentives to promote conservation and new, green jobs. It passed overwhelmingly in the House, but got just 53 votes in the Senate — a majority, but not the 60 needed to stop a Republican filibuster.

Just the threat of a filibuster can keep a bill off the Senate calendar altogether. A bill critical to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, to correct the fact that airline flight crews were omitted from the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed almost unanimously in the House. As the CWA News went to press, it still hadn't come up in the Senate.

The House also gave majority, bipartisan support to the Employee Free Choice Act, which would lift up all working families by restoring the organizing and collective bargaining rights that built America's middle class in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The bill got 51 votes, a majority but still nine short of what it needed to stop the Republican filibuster.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and anti-union groups are spending tens of millions of dollars to fight Employee Free Choice and try to stop Democrats from getting the 60 votes needed to pass it.

"Corporate America is desperate to keep us from getting 60 votes," Cohen said. "But they've met their match. We don't have their deep pockets, but we've got millions of working families from one end of this country to the other who are fed up with being an afterthought in Washington."

Senate Races In Play

Of 35 Senate races, 14 are considered "in play" for the November election. CWA, the rest of the labor movement and our allies are fighting hard to elect pro-worker candidates in each race.

Four of the races in particular, Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Virginia are leaning toward a Democrat pickup. Here's the full list (CWA-endorsed candidates in bold face):

Alaska: Incumbent Ted Stevens (R) vs. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D)

Colorado: U.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D) vs. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer (R). (Seat is open: Wayne Allard retiring.)

Georgia: Incumbent Saxby Chambliss (R) vs. Former state Rep. Jim Martin (D)

Idaho: Former U.S. Rep. Larry LaRocco (D) vs. Lt. Gov. Jim Risch (R). (Seat is open: Larry Craig retiring.)

Kentucky: Incumbent Mitch McConnell (R) vs. Bruce Lunsford (D)

Louisiana: Incumbent Mary Landrieu (D) vs. state Treasurer John N. Kennedy (R)

Maine: Incumbent Susan Collins (R) vs. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D)

Minnesota: Incumbent Norm Coleman (R) vs. Al Franken (D)

Mississippi: Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) vs. former U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker (R)

New Hampshire: Incumbent John Sununu (R) vs. former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D)

New Mexico: U.S. Rep. Tom Udall (D) vs. U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R)

North Carolina: Incumbent Elizabeth Dole (R) vs. state Sen. Kay Hagan (D)

Oregon: Incumbent Gordon Smith (R) vs. state House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D)

Virginia: Former Gov. Mark Warner (D) vs. Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R)