Looks like the business community isn’t just fleeing Creigh Deeds alone. Ben Davenport, a key supporter of pro-card check Senator Mark Warner, has just come out with an op-ed that is… well… pretty darned anti-card check:
Generations ago, unions may have played a constructive role representing employees seeking a fair wage and safer working conditions. But in more recent times, as more and more employees have learned that unions no longer “earn their keep,” union membership has been falling throughout the United States. Today, unions represent only 7.6 percent of the private sector workforce nationally and only about 5 percent of the Virginia private sector workforce. So the EFCA, even in its new “compromised” form, is not about correcting imbalances in our nation’s labor laws. Instead, it is designed to stifle debate and stack the deck in favor of unions simply to enable them to make millions of dollars in dues from new members.
Worth reading it all. Just to show you how key Mr. Davenport’s backing was for Mark Warner, you might want to refresh yourself for :60 or so:
Warner is starting to waver a bit, at least according to Greg Sargent over at The Plumb Line:
Now centrist Senator Mark Warner is confirming that he’s backing cloture. Despite being aggressively targeted by EFCA foes, here’s what he wrote in a letter to constituents:
“I believe there is a need for reform in this area, and that EFCA should be debated and voted upon by the Senate. I intend to evaluate any prevailing proposal to ensure that it allows workers and employers to be adequately informed and that it ultimately provides a fair and level playing field for both management and labor.”
The key is that Warner is confirming that he will back EFCA going to the floor and then will evaluate whether to support it. So that’s a step forward for EFCA backers.
That would be big news indeed, especially since Senator Warner still seems to be dodging town hall meetings across the Commonwealth. Heaven forbid he have two unpopular bills to defend before Virginia taxpayers and small business owners.