The Arkansas Project

Sanders: Pryor Squishy on Union Vote?

By David Kinkade - December 3, 2008 6:25 am

Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln: Key votes on union bill

Arkansas News Bureau columnist David Sanders notes that Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor’s support for the “Employee Free Choice Act,” the union-backed “card check” bill that may be a Dem priority in the coming Congress, seems to be moderating a bit:

The usually soft-spoken junior senator angered many in the Arkansas business community last spring when he forcefully claimed that those in the state Chamber of Commerce, as well as other business leaders who lobbied him against card check, were simply doing the bidding of their leadership in Washington.

But when I interviewed Sen. Pryor last week on my television program, gone was the vitriol, which had angered so many. Instead, Pryor mollified his position. When asked if he would again line up as a co-sponsor of the legislation, he indicated he wouldn’t.

In fact, he attempted to alleviate concerns that the bill would be on the fast track that union leaders had hoped for in the new Congress. He predicted that a President Obama wouldn’t push the measure in the first six months of his administration and that he might wait until 2010 to bring it up.

And this one’s a couple of days old, but Sanders’ colleague John Brummett suggested in a Monday column that President Barack Obama would do well to hold off on pushing for the controversial labor bill for now. Brummett suggests the bill may be “too polarizing” for immediate action.

More from the Fort Smith City Wire’s Michael Tilley, who offers a more in-depth examination of what the bill would do to ease unionization efforts.

Related Posts

• January 2, 2009 -- Checking in on Card Check: No Slam Dunk?
• December 30, 2008 -- Stuff from Around Arkansas, Dec. 30
• December 16, 2008 -- ‘Card Check’ Not in Cards for Lincoln? (Updated!)
• December 11, 2008 -- Stuff from Around Arkansas, Dec. 11
• November 25, 2008 -- Where Will Lincoln Go On Union Ballot Vote?
• November 22, 2008 -- Business to Lincoln: Get On Board on Union Vote