House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addressed the Communications Workers of America, reaffirming her commitment to passing EFCA: "Of course we are committed in our party and we passed over and over again and we hope that it will be the law of the land soon, the Employer Free Choice Act."
Union pressure to pass EFCA, or the card-check bill, began in earnest over a year ago, but the legislation-- at the time-- took a back seat to the health-care reform and “cap-and-trade” energy bill debates. Under the proposed legislation, if union organizers can get a majority of workers to sign union authorization cards, the union is immediately recognized in the workplace, with no further discussion or debate -- and no secret ballot election. Opponents claim the legislation would bypass free and fair union elections supervised by the National Labor Relations Board and could be used to intimidate and coerce workers into signing cards that would authorize the formation of a union. Unions claim the National Labor Relations Act already allows unions to call for card checks, and that employers frequently intimidate workers to keep unions out. ( h/t HotAir)