Georgia Republican Senator Saxy Chambliss has defeated Democrat Jim Martin in a runoff election that concluded last night.  As we’ve discussed here on the Blawg, that means that Democrats have lost their shot at a 60-seat filibuster-proof super-majority in the Senate.

Minnesota — where a recount is still in process — is the only other unresolved Senate race.  Those results are now far less important, given the Republicans’ victory in Georgia.

What does this mean?

Republicans will now be able to block key bills by filibustering, which will force compromise by the Democrats.  In other words, legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is now less likely to sail through as currently proposed.

Update:  The latest speculation is that unions may be willing to trade off the “kill the secret ballot” portion of EFCA for shorter election periods (2-3 weeks) and increased unfair labor practice charge penalties.  Also, Democrats could still hit the magic 60 if any Republicans (i.e., those facing pressure from highly unionized constituencies) break ranks.

Want more on EFCA?  Click here for a quick explanation of its major provisions and here and here for recent news.

Stay tuned for more.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 6:14 am and is filed under EFCA, Employee Free Choice Act, Employment Law News, Politics, Unions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.