Columbus partner Mike Asensio, who practices exclusively in the area of Management Labor and Employment Law, was quoted in a March 29, 2009, Washington Post article, "Union Bill's Declining Chances Give Rise to Alternatives."
According to the article, with the prospects for a landmark pro-union proposal—the Employee Free Choice Act—looking increasingly shaky in Congress, senators in both parties are seeking other ways to reform labor laws, potentially reshaping what many expected to be a defining showdown of Barack Obama's presidency. Unions say the bill would let workers express their preference free of employer threats and prevent employer stalling during bargaining. Employers say it would expose workers to union intimidation and force them to give up control over how they run their business.
According to the article, even many on the business side concede that the labor laws need updating. The last major reform was the anti-union Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, and complaints about the slow-moving National Labor Relations Board are legion. "Labor law reform is long overdue," said Asensio.
Union leaders say they can still get 60 senators by amending the bill in committee but without undermining its fundamentals. Business groups warn against this and say the debate will not advance until union supporters scrap the bill and start over. "If they make it all or nothing, they enhance their chances of getting nothing," Asensio said.