EFCA Wins Majority Vote in Senate!

But votes short of 60 needed to cut off filibuster

Today, all workers in the U.S. should celebrate another victory on the road to meaningful labor law reform. After passing the House of Representatives in March, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) came up for consideration in the Senate. While a majority (51) of Senators voted for it, that was short of the 60 needed to stop the GOP filibuster. While short of the super majority needed in the Senate, it clearly sends the message that we are closer to the day when workers will have a true and fair choice on whether or not to form a union in their workplace.

Despite millions of dollars spent by anti-union lobbyists and corporations, the majority of U.S. Senators, under unrelenting pressure from Rapid Response and many others in the labor movement, stood up for workers and voted yes on the EFCA. And we proved that we now have the majority and that we will not stop until the EFCA is signed into law.

Through President Bush promised to veto the bill, we must fight to make sure the next President actively fights to get the EFCA passed through congress and signed into law.

How Did Your Senators Vote?

The EFCA vote in the Senate was 51 Right and 48 Wrong with 1 Senator not voting (Sen. Tim Johnson – D-SD who has been very ill.)

All Democrats Voted Right

All Republicans Voted Wrong Except Sen. Arlen Specter ( R-PA)

(Though Specter came under extreme pressure from within his party to vote against the EFCA he stood up to vote the right way for workers.)

Congratulations to each of you for your Rapid Response work to get us to this point! The fight is not over, but it is clear that labor law reform is on the horizon!

Source: USW Rapid Response