Kenneth Elder's Blog

The View From Philly

Specter may need to waffle again on the Employee Free Choice Act just to stay afloat

Senator Arlen Specter told The Associated Press recently that “prospects are pretty good” for a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act. Specter also told The AP that he is “hard at work trying to find some way to find an answer,” a tough task considering the political quandary he is in after wavering on his original stance toward the card-check bill.

Pretty soon, Specter’s office won’t be working hard just to find a compromise. They will be working hard just to answer the phone. One of the main organizations spearheading the campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act, American Rights at Work (ARW), has said in a press release that Specter’s office can expect to be receiving 10,000 phone calls urging him to vote yes on the EFCA.

The 10,000 phone calls are part of a broader campaign that the powerful labor unions are initiating. The unions’ persistence in pushing the EFCA presents a serious threat to Specter’s prospects in the upcoming Senatorial primary, thereby providing insight into why he will most likely compromise on his original decision. Having originally voted to advance the EFCA, Specter’s more recent vote against the Act disappointed union leaders. They now see Specter’s switch to the Democratic party as a sign that he is willing to compromise.

American Rights at Work are pressuring Specter to make that compromise. They have released a television ad called “The Right Thing,” which targets Senator Specter. The ad asks Specter if he will stand with American workers or choose to back corporate interests.

According to ARW’s Acting Executive Director Kimberly Freeman, “This new ad makes it clear that the debate on the Employee Free Choice is really a choice between helping the corporations that drove this economy out of balance or helping working people who are losing their homes and their jobs.” Using a subtle play on words, the TV spot implies that Specter risks losing the Senatorial election if he does not vote for the Act: “Call and tell Specter Pennsylvania’s for him… As long as he’s for the Employee Free Choice Act.”

Freeman sees the EFCA as crucial to the vitality of the American economy, particularly in a time of economic trouble, saying: “We hope Senator Specter will join the President and the majority of Congress who understand that if we truly wish to restore our middle class, workers must be able to bargain, not borrow their way to a better life.”