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Feinstein denies saying she would oppose EFCA
06/03/09 11:15 AM ET
A local radio station is reporting Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will not vote for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), but Feinstein's office says the report mischaracterizes her statements.
A member of a local chamber of commerce told the station in no uncertain terms that Feinstein made clear, in a meeting with his group, that she wouldn't support the current bill or any compromise that doesn't include a secret ballot.
"She will not vote for the bill, and she will not support any modification allowing the process to bypass secret ballots, and she believes that now is not the right time for this type of legislation given the downturn in the economy," said John Shaffery, vice president for the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber Board of Directors, according to KHTS-AM.
Feinstein said in a statement that the second-hand account isn't accurate.
"A statement has been put out mischaracterizing my position on this bill," she said. "The truth is that I am working to find common ground between the needs of both business and labor in order to reach a bipartisan solution.
"I believe we must find a way to protect the privacy of individual workers so that they may elect whether to form a union free of intimidation."
Feinstein has previously expressed reservations about the current form of the bill, but hasn't said definitively that she opposes the legislation.
Several Democrats have balked at supporting the bill, but most are leaving themselves wiggle room and come from swing or red states. Feinstein's departure would be crippling.
Updated at 3:23 p.m.
Update at 3:38 p.m. The station's report appears to have been taken down.
A member of a local chamber of commerce told the station in no uncertain terms that Feinstein made clear, in a meeting with his group, that she wouldn't support the current bill or any compromise that doesn't include a secret ballot.
"She will not vote for the bill, and she will not support any modification allowing the process to bypass secret ballots, and she believes that now is not the right time for this type of legislation given the downturn in the economy," said John Shaffery, vice president for the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber Board of Directors, according to KHTS-AM.
Feinstein said in a statement that the second-hand account isn't accurate.
"A statement has been put out mischaracterizing my position on this bill," she said. "The truth is that I am working to find common ground between the needs of both business and labor in order to reach a bipartisan solution.
"I believe we must find a way to protect the privacy of individual workers so that they may elect whether to form a union free of intimidation."
Feinstein has previously expressed reservations about the current form of the bill, but hasn't said definitively that she opposes the legislation.
Several Democrats have balked at supporting the bill, but most are leaving themselves wiggle room and come from swing or red states. Feinstein's departure would be crippling.
Updated at 3:23 p.m.
Update at 3:38 p.m. The station's report appears to have been taken down.
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