It's Official: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Will Not Support EFCA
On the heels of the announcement last week that organized labor would be pressing elected officials regarding the future of EFCA during the April Congressional Recess, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) made an announcement of her own. Confirming what many have long suspected, Sen. Lincoln announced yesterday that she would not support S. 560. Per The Hill:
“I consider both the labor and the business communities to be my friends. However, now that we need all hands on deck, including business and labor, to get our economy moving again, this issue is dividing us,” Lincoln said in a statement. “While I may not have been clear about my position in the past, I am stating today that I cannot support Employee Free Choice Act in its current form and I can’t support efforts to bring it to Senate consideration in its current form.”
The Senator's statement follows fellow Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) withdrawal of support, and Senator Arlen Specter's (R-PA) recent floor speech announcing that he would not vote for EFCA.
All three have called for exploration of legislative alternatives that business and labor can both support. But if there is to be any attempt at labor law reform in this Congress, yesterday's announcement must be seen as another nail in the coffin for EFCA as repeatedly introduced.
