In the Grand Forks (ND) Herald, business owner Jeff Glasser writes a letter to the editor in opposition to EFCA:

I care about my employees, and I wouldn’t want them subject to the kind of harassment this could create.

And once unionized, of course, employees also would be subject to union dues and promotion practices, effectively lowering their income and possibility of advancement at the worst time.

For me, the act would add more red tape to an already heavy load of regulations I struggle with.

Given the economic situation and the difficulty in just staying in business these days, passing this legislation would not just be unfair. It would be foolhardy.

While proclaiming that "Liberal groups feel welcome again in Washington," with the election of Senator Obama, the L.A. Times still opines:

Some wish lists may be relatively easy to fulfill. An expanded federal hate-crimes law -- a priority of civil rights and gay rights groups -- cleared Congress but was vetoed by President Bush. The Fair Pay Act -- a priority for women's groups that removes obstacles to pay-discrimination lawsuits -- came within four votes of overcoming a filibuster.

Other challenges are bigger: a pathway to citizenship for illegal workers, for example; or the union-backed Employee Free Choice Act legislation, vigorously opposed by business groups, that would make labor organizing easier.

Finally, the Little Rock (AR) Review Journal is published in the heart of an EFCA battleground.  Regular readers of this blog will recall that Arkansas' Senators ultimately voted for cloture -- perhaps reluctantly -- after initally declining to co-sponsor EFCA, and equivocating a bit regarding their support.  Today, columnist John Brummet reports that doubt perhaps lingers as people contemplate President-Elect Obama's immediate priorities:

As [Senator] Lincoln advises both conveniently and wisely, he [Obama] ought to prioritize smartly and strike first instead on economic stimulus, health care and energy independence. He needs to tell labor that his administration will be infinitely friendlier in terms of regulations and practices, but that card check must wait.

I am far more certain of the political wisdom of that than about which side is right. But I am reasonably confident that labor is going to have a better time of it during an Obama administration even if it still has to contend with 40-day delays before secret-ballot elections.

And there's a thought that has perhaps been largely lost in all the focus on EFCA....