Odds of a vote dim for card check bill

Chances that Congress will vote on a union-organizing bill this year are dimming as lawmakers make health care and appropriations the top priorities.

Some Democratic senators have been trying for months to find a way around the bill's most contentious provision, the "card check" rule that would let workers unionize by simply signing up rather than running a secret-ballot vote.

While attempts at a compromise have made headway, less progress has been made on the bill's other divisive element: imposing a government-appointed arbitrator to set contract terms -- including wages and benefits -- if companies and newly formed unions can't agree within 120 days of bargaining. The legislation, known as the Employee Free Choice Act, also would increase penalties on employers that violate labor laws during organizing periods, according to a July 31 article in The Wall Street Journal.

Read a Glass Magazine article on the card check bill.

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