Good News: The misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act” was defeated in the U.S. Senate when proponents failed to invoke cloture. Sixty votes were needed. The motion failed 51-48. The bill would have made it easier for labor unions to organize businesses by taking away workers’ rights to a secret ballot election. Bad News:Both Maryland Senators voted in favor of the motion.

This legislation would have replaced secret ballot elections with a process called “card check,” where a union is recognized in a workplace if a majority of workers sign a card in the presence of union organizers and fellow employees who support unionization. The Maryland Chamber believes that secret ballot elections are the most fair and accurate way for employees to determine whether they wish to be represented by a particular union.