LABOR: "WE'RE ESCALATING" ON EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE.

On the news that Sen. Blanche Lincoln is now publicly opposed to the current Employee Free Choice Act legislation, I wrote a pessimistic post suggesting the bill was stalled for the time being -- possibly until 2010 -- barring a willingness to amend the legislation. But labor isn't giving up without a fight. This morning, I spoke with Alison Omens of the AFL-CIO, who argued that the battle over the legislation is far from over. She characterized the statements of opposition from both Lincoln and key Republican Sen. Arlen Specter as "little bumps in the road" and noted that both are open to supporting a modified bill. How will that shape up?

We support the key principles of the Employee Free Choice Act, which is workers' freedom to choose how to form a union, real penalties for companies that violate the law, and creating a solution that gives companies incentive to bargain in good faith. We're still moving towards that, and we still think that is going to happen, and it's going to happen this year.

When Sen. Tom Harkin rolled out the bill a few weeks ago, he noted that it would be going through the regular amendment process -- here's a look at the potential deals that could be made, and this post includes Specter's suggestions for revising the bill. "We're happy to talk to people who legitimately care about workers' rights," Omens said. Asked if she thought Lincoln cared about workers' rights, she observed that "[Lincoln] was endorsed by the Arkansas AFL-CIO the last time around, and I don't want to speak for people in Arkansas, [but] I know that they're disappointed."

I also spoke this morning to a Democratic Senate aide familiar with the negotiations surrounding the bill, who told me that discussions with several offices were ongoing, but the parties aren't ready to talk publicly about what's on the table and what's off the table. On the labor side, Omens emphasized that a lot of work is going on in states and districts across the country to gin up grass-roots support for the bill, with hundreds of events and a new ad buy from the pro-worker advocacy group American Rights at Work. The unions are also ramping up the pressure on Specter -- several different labor press flacks passed along the following video of the Pennsylvania Republican speaking in support of EFCA in 2005, to contrast with this more recent video of him condemning it. No doubt Pat Toomey is taking notes.

We've arrived at the negotiating table. With Labor and its Democratic allies in the Senate adjusting the bill to lure a few moderates back on board, some kind of legislation will be passed to level the playing field for workers to organize this year. The question now is how much the bill will be watered down to get it over the filibuster hump with moderates like Lincoln and Specter back on board. The good news? Almost anything is better than the status quo.

-- Tim Fernholz