While a small group of moderate Senate Democrats tries to broker a filibuster-proof compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), political observers remain skeptical about the bill’s prospects. Business groups dislike the heavily lobbied measure, while organized labor strongly supports it and appears unwilling to budge on key principles. But business groups and unions alike agree the Obama administration has created a sea change on labor issues, and some of EFCA’s objectives could be accomplished by another means: a much more union-friendly National Labor Relations Board.
The White House has sent three nominations to the Senate to fill vacant seats on the board. If Democrats Craig Becker, associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International union, Mark Gaston, a long-time union-side attorney, and Republican Brian Hayes, an aide with the Senate labor committee, are confirmed, NLRB will have a full five-member complement for the first time since December 2007.