AWMA included the issue of “card check” as one of our concerns when our industry lobbied Congress during our annual AWMA Day on the Hill program this spring.  The Employee Free Choice Act legislation – commonly referred to as “card check” – has been the focus of AWMA opposition for the last few years as this issue has received more attention.  While we were gratified by the defeat of this misguided legislation in the previous Congress, we wanted to be sure that our legislators understood our strong opposition to the bill despite the lack of recent action on this issue.  Although the issue seemed to be on the “back burner” recently, AWMA wanted to remind our lawmakers that it still remains on President Obama’s agenda and that any attempts to revive the issue would be strongly opposed by our industry.

And, it seems that AWMA’s inclusion of this important issue on our Day on the Hill agenda was not meritless.  Last week, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) indicated that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was not dead in the Senate.  “To those who think it’s dead, I say think again”, Senator Harkin told the press in a radio program.  Senator Harkin is the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee which has jurisdiction over this issue.  As chairman of this powerful committee, Senator Harkin indicated that he will work with Democrats to trip to pass the card check bill during the lame-duck session.  “We are still trying to maneuver,” Senator Harkin said in response to a question about recent action on card check.  Senator Harkin indicated he believed that this bill can be passed during the lame-duck session of Congress towards the end of this year before the November 2010 elections.

AWMA will continue to work to oppose this onerous legislation and will keep members apprised of any new developments on this issue.