No EFCA vote

So no card check vote in the Senate today... the energy bill was causing too much trouble to get EFCA on the schedule. Here's the AFL-CIO blog:

In Tampa, Fla., union members delivered more than 500 letters to the office of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) thanking him for co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act. The same members took 500 letters of concern to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), asking him to reconsider his opposition to the legislation.

The Tampa workers ended their day of action by conducting an informational picket outside a Verizon office to highlight the struggle by workers there to form a union. After Verizon bought MCI in 2005, it created a separate business unit, Verizon Business, to wall off the former MCI workers from unionized employees who perform the same job functions, according to union leaders. Union workers have campaigned to “Tear Down the Wall” and help their Verizon Business co-workers win bargaining rights.

It's important to make sure Senators supporting labor know they're appreciated, because it is a lot more lucrative, campaign contribution wise, to side with employers no questions asked.

As for Verizon, their wireless and business units is one of the best examples of just how much impact the EFCA would have. Verizon Wireless workers have been trying for years to get union representation, but have been so far been effectively fought tooth and nail on it. This CNN article about a mass walkout at the unit is from 2000, to give you an idea of how much of a struggle it's been.

Hey, want the fewest drop calls of any network? Join me at the new AT&T (formerly known as Cingular). They at least allow employee representation.

One of the dumber moves of the day goes to Senator Norm Coleman (MN), "George Bush's biggest butt boy", according to Al Franken. In grave danger of losing his seat in '08 and looking to paint himself as moderate, he goes and tells a bunch of union members via video at a rally that the EFCA would take away the right to the secret ballot. First of all, that's bogus. It gives workers a choice between card check (good) and secret ballot (bad). And for a guy looking to stay in office in a heavily organized state, a state whose opposition's party is called the Democrat Farmer Laborer Party... just stupid.