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Reuters: Business Girds for Push by Unions on Obama Win

Columbus partner Mike Asensio, who practices exclusively in the area of Management Labor and Employment Law, was quoted in a November 5 Reuters article, "Business Girds for Push by Unions on Obama Win."

According to the article, in the wake of the election of Barack Obama—who was strong supported by organized labor—corporate America is bracing for a bold offensive from labor early in 2009, including a renewed push in Congress to pass legislation, fiercely opposed by business, that would make it easier to organize unions in the workplace.

The legislation—known as the Employee Free Choice Act, or the "card check" bill—would let unions be certified once a majority of employees sign union authorization cards. Forming a union now requires a majority of employees to vote in a government-supervised, secret-ballot election.

According to Asensio, there probably will be enough votes in the Senate to withstand a filibuster and get some form of the legislation passed. "Labor has been fighting for 14 years through political contributions to have a voice . . . They now have a Democrat in the White House who will sign labor reform," he said.