EFCA Compromise: An Update

Two sources familiar with discussions say that the alternatives to "card check" being circulated by companies like Whole Foods, Costco and Starbuck do not include what's become known as the 70/50/30 proposal, which would effectively permit card-check elections only when 70% of a company's eligible employees agree to join a union.  The 70/50/30 proposal, the brainchild of DC labor lawyer Jay Krupin, was considered by the companies but rejected, according to one of the sources.  The sources would not say what alternatives the companies are actually proposing, and there's no way to know whether partial compromises would attract the attention of lawmakers nervous about the Employee Free Choice Act.  We'll know more on Sunday, when the companies are supposed to provide more information.  It's not clear whether labor would accept a compromise -- though they're loving the idea that businesses are beginning to break away from the pack.  Based on their reaction to the Starbucks/Costco/Whole Foods float, the Chamber of Commerce and other groups opposed to EFCA probably wouldn't support a compromise either.