Armageddon, noun. 1 a: the site or time of a final and conclusive battle between the forces of good and evil b: the battle taking place at Armageddon 2: a usually vast decisive conflict or confrontation
“This will be Armageddon,” Randel Johnson, vice president for labor policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, told the New York Times back in November. To which forthcoming political issue was he referring? The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card check unionization, which failed to pass during the 2008 Congress. Although a majority supported it, there weren’t enough votes to end a filibuster threat. With the 2008 election results, there may now be.
It has been a foregone conclusion that some new version of the act would appear during 2009, and today will be the day. The Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 is being introduced in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D, Calif.), and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D, Iowa) will do the honors with a midday press conference. Democrats are expected to support it, and Republicans will oppose it, but it’s those who cross party lines that will determine the fate of the bill. Coverage:
- CNN: Key union renews push
- USA Today: Warren Buffett opposes bill
- National Review: Obama, Biden assure unions it will pass
- Talking Points Memo: Filibuster may doom card check
- Business Week: Lobbying battle heats up
