Obama tells AFL-CIO Bosses that Card Check Will Pass

Wall Street Journal article

The politics on this will be fun to watch. Typically, this legislation would originate in the House and if passed, then proceed to the Senate.

However, it looks like this process might be reversed. Why would they do that?

There are many Democratic congressman in the House that are from states that have "Right to Work" rules (i.e. no unions) or represent conservative districts. If they vote YES on this bill, their constituents will not be pleased. They are worried that if they vote YES but then the bill does NOT pass in the Senate, then they will run the risk of not being re-elected.

Having the Senate vote first can provide them some "cover". If the Senate does NOT pass the bill, then Pelosi will not bring it up for a vote in the House. If the bill DOES PASS in the Senate, those democratic congressman who would put themselves "at risk" for re-election with a YES vote would probably be able to abstain (and thus not upset their constituents).

Here's a link to the earlier post that describes this legislation.

Here's a link to a more complete description of the "process".