The battle continues to be rough on both sides of the EFCA and Healthcare debates.  Organized labor is committed to some form of EFCA's passage.  ANY form of EFCA is "not" good for businesses.  The Obama Administration is committed to passing healthcare by the end of the summer.  While the current healthcare structure has it's challenges, many of the fine print in the healthcare reform package being considered by congress seeks to expand government programs, raise taxes to pay for it and mandate employers participate or be penalized.  The question is always... How much will taxes go up?  MTI seeks to keep you informed so you can contact your legislators to share with them how passage of these laws will impact your company.  Click READ MORE for an update on both bills:

Employee Free Choice Act

Congress has adjourned for the Independence Day holiday and will reconvene in Washington for four weeks before the August recess. It is rumored that some form of the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) may come up for a vote in the month of July.
 
Sen. Harkin (D-IA), who is managing the EFCA in the Senate, continues to pledge action on some form of the EFCA before the August recess. Harkin has threatened that if he doesn’t have the votes to pass an alternative version of the bill, then he will bring the EFCA in its current form to the Senate floor. Last week Sen. Harkin, Vice President Biden and Labor Secretary Solis reiterated their support for the legislation during a conference with union members.
 
Now is the perfect time to contact your legislators and those who represent districts in which you have operations while they are at home, urging them to oppose the EFCA.  While many members of Congress have expressed concerns with EFCA in its current form, it important that we continue to urge members – especially Senators - to oppose votes, especially votes on cloture in the Senate, on the EFCA in any form.
 
Recess Action Requested:  
 
Please contact your senators over the recess, and urge them to oppose all votes on the EFCA in any form.  Click here for a list of telephone and fax numbers for your lawmakers’ district/state offices.  To access information on your local legislator, CLICK HERE.

We encourage MTI members to submit opinion editorials to their local newspapers to demonstrate our strong opposition to the EFCA. The MTI, with NAM, has a resource center to assist you with these efforts. To engage, please contact Keith Smith at (202) 637-3045 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
While it is important that every Member of Congress hear from manufacturers on this important issue, we encourage MTI members to specifically contact the below Senators during the recess period to urge them to oppose all votes on the EFCA in any form.

• Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN)
• Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)
• Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
• Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC)
• Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
• Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
• Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)
• Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)
• Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA)
• Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
• Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)

Several Members of Congress including Sens. Mikulski, Pryor and others have asked for details of how the EFCA would impact specific employers. We encourage MTI members to explain how past experiences with union organizing efforts have impacted their facilities and employees and cost jobs. This is a great opportunity for MTI members to share the often untold story of manufacturers who provide generous benefits to their employees and engage in positive employee relations.

We plan to keep you posted when we have a better sense of timing of movement on EFCA and EFCA-related legislation. However, we will not likely have much notice before a vote is scheduled, so it’s vital that you use this opportunity during the recess to make our concerns clear, before it’s too late.
 
EFCA Resources: Talking points and sample e-mails to Senators are located at the EFCA Toolkit located at: www.nam.org/efca.

Healthcare Reform 

The public focus on Capitol Hill last week shifted from health care reform to climate change as the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation went to a vote late Friday. The bill, which the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) opposed, still must pass the Senate. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, both the Senate and the House were working on health care proposals that are sure to be front and center after Independence Day.
 
The Senate HELP Committee spent seven days working on the Affordable Health Choices Act before suspending markup until after the July 4 recess. Despite its progress, some major parts of the bill still need to be included and officially scored. Until lawmakers can review descriptions for a public plan and how employer participation will be dictated, the bill is not likely to move forward.
 
On Thursday Senator Baucus reported that the Senate Finance Committee is close to reducing the cost of its bill to under $1 trillion – although specifics are still not known. The NAM has been advocating for Congress to finance health care reform with savings and funding mechanisms from inside the system. We continue to work closely with the Finance Committee in an effort to ensure the legislation minimizes costly burdens for manufacturers and protects employers’ ability to provide appropriate coverage to their employees. We are not anticipating a draft until after Congress returns on July 6.
 
Both Committees are under pressure to complete their work, merge their bills and obtain Senate approval before August.
 
On the House side, three committees introduced their draft proposal for health care reform on June 19. The bill includes a full-blown public insurance program along with a mandate that employers either offer health insurance or pay a penalty. Estimates are that the bill will cost a hefty $3.5 trillion, although the official cost has not yet been given. On Friday the NAM sent a letter to the committees to outline our opposition to provisions that will raise costs for employers and dictate how they provide coverage. In a televised town hall last week, the President made his case for government-sponsored health care.
 
Following the recess, we are anticipating a quick pace throughout the summer. President Obama is pushing for both chambers of Congress to vote on health care legislation before the August break. We will be working closely with legislators as they try to come to agreement on sweeping reform of the nation’s health care system.