The latest version of the Employee Free Choice Act has hit the table. Let the fireworks begin.

Sen. Arlen Specter — the Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat who’s been the linchpin of the controversy over the pro-union proposal — has unveiled his version of the legislation. He picked a likely locale: the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.

Here are the highlights of Specter’s offering:

• “Card check” discarded. This was the bill’s sorest spot — a provision that would allow unions to be formed through a simple majority of employees signing cards indicating their approval, a substantive shift from the current requirement that unions can only be formed after secret-ballot elections. The fact that the provision’s not included in Specter’s bill comes as no surprise. He swore he’d never vote for EFCA if card check was part of the package, and he was joined in that opinion by several right-leaning Democratic colleagues.
• Strict time frames for elections. Labor groups have long complained that with no deadline, employers can extend the period before secret balloting is held to intimidate employees. Specter’s bill would set a specific time limit between the date organizers announce they have sufficient employee support and when the actual voting takes place.
• Mandatory arbitration. Labor leaders have long complained that employers unfairly dig in their heels during the “first contract” process — to the point where many newly formed unions simply fall apart because the negotiations drag on for months, sometimes years. Specter’s proposal would require the parties to enter into mandatory arbitration after a specific negotiating period. But he adds a bone for employers who are wary of giving mediators the power to dictate contract terms.
  The measure would require both union and management to submit their “last best offer” for arbitration. The mediator would then be required to pick one or the other; the arbiter would not have the power to come up with a compromise. Such a requirement would prevent unions from “asking for the moon” in the hope a mediator devises a deal that splits the difference between the two parties.
• Equal time. Union organizers would be guaranteed equal access to workers, if the employer holds anti-union meetings during regular work hours.
• Triple time. Under the Specter proposal, penalties for employers who violate labor laws during organizing efforts would be three times as harsh as they stand today.

Will this version of EFCA pass? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess. With the recent death of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), the Democrats lack the required 60 votes to block a filibuster in the Senate. Nonetheless, Specter said he expected EFCA to pass “before the year is out.”

We’ll keep you posted.

For a look at some of the political maneuvering around Specter’s move, go here.

Just 48% of participants in a recent Gallup Poll expressed approval of labor unions. That’s down from 59% in last year’s survey, and the lowest level of public support since Gallup first asked the question in 1937.

To put the numbers in perspective: In that first poll — held right after the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, which gave most private-sector workers the right to join a labor union — the approval rate was 72%. That benchmark was bested in 1957, when the number rose to 75%.

The previous low? A 55% approval rate in both 1979 and 1981.

Hopeful sign for employers?

The poll results couldn’t come at better time for employers feeling threatened by the prospect of  EFCA’s passage — whatever form that might take. Even if the pro-union legislation makes it into law, it seems there’s a dwindling number of Americans who feel the labor unions are playing a positive role in the national economy.

For a look at the full poll results, go here.

We’ve heard conflicting reports about just what the Democrats have up their sleeve concerning the legislation, which is aimed at making it easier for employees to form unions. One report says the Dems have shelved EFCA in favor of working on health reform. Another says Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) may be plotting a maneuver to push a measure through before opposition forces have a chance to mount a counterattack.

So anything’s possible.

You’ve probably heard that the Democrats have agreed to drop the most controversial part of the bill: the “card check” provision, which would allow workers to unionize with a simple majority of employee signatures on sign-up cards.

Overshadowed in the hubbub around the card check deletion, however, was another EFCA provision that should make employers shudder: the requirement that if union and management can’t agree on a contract within 120 days of union certification, the matter goes before an arbitration board — which will issue a binding contract.

A few other frightening aspects of the proposal:

• increased penalties for employers who interfere with union organizing activities, including triple back pay to employees who are unlawfully fired or discriminated against during an organizing drive or in the period between certification and the first contract, and
• civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation if an employer’s found to have violated employee rights during an organizing campaign or while bargaining the first contract.

For a look at where the legislation stands, go here.

A dozen union leaders will huddle with President Obama in the White House this week. Here’s what they’re talking about.

Health care
Labor leaders in general are in favor of passage of Obama’s healthcare initiatives. They want to kick around some of the specifics:

• They oppose enacting a tax on employee-provided health benefits to help finance healthcare reform. Fact is, a lot of union members get their health coverage through their employers, so organized labor isn’t keen on taxing the benefit.
• They support the so-called public option for health coverage, in which a government entity offers insurance and competes with private providers.

Employee Free Choice Act
The original proposal sought to make unionization easier by offering a “card check” provision instead of a vote. The bill has hit a speed bump because supporters haven’t been able to rustle up 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster, and the seating of liberal Democrat Al Franken isn’t seen as the tipping point for getting passage.

All of that has forced union organizers to look at alternatives and compromises. They’ll be looking to the President for encouragement and ideas.

Bottom line: The card-check provision of EFCA may be dead, but the bill isn’t — yet.

President Obama recently admitted that the “card check” provision of EFCA — which would establish a union when a majority of employees simply sign cards indicating their support — doesn’t have enough Congressional support to pass.

But compromise measures are in the works.

These include a proposal from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) that would, among other things:

• give equal time to union organizers following “captive audience” meetings between management and workers, and
• provide organizers with all announcements or literature distributed by the employer, so union reps can respond.

Another key issue in the legislation: arbitration. Current law requires both labor and management to engage in good-faith negotiations following union certification. But it doesn’t mandate an agreement. So talks can — and often do — go on indefinitely.

Under the current version of EFCA, if the two parties haven’t reached an agreement after 120 days, the matter would go to binding arbitration.

Clearly, that provision isn’t exactly popular with employers. Compromise proposals could include a formal timetable for negotiations, less-restrictive forms of arbitration and a mechanism for employees to vote on a company’s “last best offer.”

We’ll keep you posted.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been actively campaigning against EFCA. For a look at the Chamber’s latest position, go here.