Senate Moderates Deal Unions A Minor Smackdown

Moderate Democrats in the U.S. Senate have handed union organizers a minor defeat this week by trimming a "card check" provision from a pending labor bill. The provision would have allowed workers to unionize as soon as a majority had signed cards indicating that they wished to do so. However, many moderates found that provision less democratic than the existing secret ballot system and more prone to encourage pro-union workers to bully their colleagues. On the upside (for labor organizers), the bill allows unions to be created much faster. So, is that a win-win or a lose-lose? [NYTimes]