Both business, labor claim recess victories

The Employee Free Choice Act is gaining steam around the country and I not surprised that both businesses and labor groups are claiming that they have done a successful job in getting what they want accomplished. The battle of words and framing of issues is key because to the normal citizen, they do not pay attention to the meetings or effort that goes into the final result, all the typical person sees is the bottom line. Businesses are lucky right now that Democrats have been unable to hone in their own and get a few Republicans on their side because despite how badly the bill is written, most Democrats would pass it today if sent through to the floor. It came so close during the previous Congress only to be halted by President Bush's threat of veto and a few members refusing to vote in accordance with their leadership's discretion. Labor unions have done a good job of at least making the issue relevant in our everyday media. I really had not heard much about the bill until this semester and I now continually hear about it whenever I am watching television, reading the news, or even answering phone calls or mail at work. Making the issue something that people can understand still needs to be worked on, but if they can frame it just right then they could end up forcing a compromise with businesses to get some more rights.