Results and Next Steps
From 2006 to 2009, CWA and our allies worked hard to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) as a critical part of the economic justice program that produced a Democratic majority in Congress from 2006 through 2010. Health care for all, campaign finance legislation, climate change, the DREAM Act, public safety, and collective bargaining didn’t fare any better than EFCA. All were passed by strong margins by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s chamber, but never got to the Senate floor for even one minute of debate. This was despite the fact that in 2009, there were 60 Democratic s e n a t o r s —the supermajority needed to move legislation to the floor, end debate and secure a vote for or against passage.
EFCA was no different than any of the other progressive legislation. The 40 Republican senators were in lockstep, opposing the motion to proceed. Therefore there was no debate. There wasn’t really a filibuster either, since the legislation never advanced to the Senate floor. That’s not the image many remember from the classic Hollywood film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” There’s nothing heroic about blocking debate or discussion on issues that are critical to our nation.
Yet five years later, many so-called labor proponents write about EFCA as if the legislation was flawed rather than a victim of the worst interpretation of Senate rules ever. They write that we should not have attempted any version of majority sign up (card check) even though in virtually every other global democracy employers recognize unions without elections and in most cases without majorities.
Critics forget that first contract arbitration was as much a lightning rod for Senate Republicans as majority sign up.
For labor and our allies, the failure of the Senate to debate EFCA and the other major legislation of the 111th Congress should be a wake-up call. Playing by these rules is our only failure. Playing constant defense in the Senate so things don’t get worse ensures that we will never go forward. A starting point for change must be Senate rules reform along with the other key building blocks in our fight for a 21st century democracy.
We soon will organize around a new version of federal labor legislation designed to spotlight the collapse of workers’ rights for all Americans and the consequences to union and non-union workers alike. This time we realize that Senate rules reform is critical before there is any hope for democracy in our workplaces or anywhere else.