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Romney Slams Binding Arbitration in EFCA Call - The Hill
By Reid Wilson, The Hill
April 13, 2009
As he considers whether to run for president a second time, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is involving himself in the debate over the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure that is a top priority for labor groups and the focus of a massive public lobbying campaign by business groups that oppose it.
Romney used a Monday conference call to attack a little-noticed provision in the bill that would require binding arbitration if a union and a business cannot come to a labor agreement within 120 days, which Romney called "about as un-American a thing as I can imagine."
Romney used a Monday conference call to attack a little-noticed provision in the bill that would require binding arbitration if a union and a business cannot come to a labor agreement within 120 days, which Romney called "about as un-American a thing as I can imagine."
"Legislation of this nature would be calamitous for the U.S. economy, short term and long term," Romney said Monday. "This act represents an unprecedented attack on the individual rights of American workers and American citizens.
"You're basically saying the workers in a workplace and the management that is running the enterprise will not be able to set their own work rules," added Romney, who as governor vetoed a similar bill in his final year in office in Massachusetts. He called arbitration "a grab of power by the federal government."
Most of the focus on the bill has been on the so-called "card-check" provision, which would allow workers to form a union if more than half of a company's employees sign union cards. Labor groups hope the bill would reverse the decades-long decline in union membership, while businesses have argued the provision will hurt them in an era of economic hardship.
But some business lobbyists say binding arbitration worries them more than card-check does, as arbitration would hand over decisions about everything from contracts to healthcare to a government arbitrator.
The measure seems likely to run into a wall in the Senate, as two key lawmakers have signaled they will oppose cloture. Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), both of whom backed cloture in the 110th Congress, have said they oppose the bill in its current form.
Supporters need to reach at least 60 votes in the Senate to gain cloture, and no Republican has said he or she will back the bill. Without Lincoln, Democrats will be able to muster at most 57 votes, though senators like Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and others have expressed their own reservations, effectively tabling the bill.
But that hasn't meant the furious lobbying efforts on both sides have slowed down. Business and labor groups are still spending millions on pressure campaigns aimed at specific lawmakers.
Romney warned against compromise legislation and said that despite recent legislative setbacks, the bill could get through….
"You're basically saying the workers in a workplace and the management that is running the enterprise will not be able to set their own work rules," added Romney, who as governor vetoed a similar bill in his final year in office in Massachusetts. He called arbitration "a grab of power by the federal government."
Most of the focus on the bill has been on the so-called "card-check" provision, which would allow workers to form a union if more than half of a company's employees sign union cards. Labor groups hope the bill would reverse the decades-long decline in union membership, while businesses have argued the provision will hurt them in an era of economic hardship.
But some business lobbyists say binding arbitration worries them more than card-check does, as arbitration would hand over decisions about everything from contracts to healthcare to a government arbitrator.
The measure seems likely to run into a wall in the Senate, as two key lawmakers have signaled they will oppose cloture. Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), both of whom backed cloture in the 110th Congress, have said they oppose the bill in its current form.
Supporters need to reach at least 60 votes in the Senate to gain cloture, and no Republican has said he or she will back the bill. Without Lincoln, Democrats will be able to muster at most 57 votes, though senators like Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and others have expressed their own reservations, effectively tabling the bill.
But that hasn't meant the furious lobbying efforts on both sides have slowed down. Business and labor groups are still spending millions on pressure campaigns aimed at specific lawmakers.
Romney warned against compromise legislation and said that despite recent legislative setbacks, the bill could get through….