The latest news on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a possible compromise in which EFCA’s card-check provision is replaced by a "quickie election" procedure – where an election must be held a very short time (a week to three weeks) after the union requests one from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  Another possible compromise provision would be to allow unions equal time with employees if employers choose to hold "captive audience" meetings with employees during a campaign.  Both proposals would allow for elections in place of the proposed card check provision, but would sharply curtail employers’ ability to express their views to their employees.  To learn more, read this article from the Washington Post. 

Recently converted Democratic Senator Arlen Specter continues to hold the EFCA spotlight:  according to this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there is speculation afoot of a deal between Senator Specter and the AFL-CIO and  in which Senator Specter would support EFCA in exchange for labor’s full backing the 2010 Senate race.  If Specter changes his position and backs EFCA, it might pass without substantial amendments. 

To read more about EFCA, check out the Stoel Rives World of Employment’s EFCA Coverage.