Reid: too many priorities right now to focus on ‘card check’

The Senate has too many priorities on its agenda to handle “card check” legislation anytime soon, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday.

Reid told a lunch crowd at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would have to wait for the meanwhile.

“We have too many other things on our plate,” Reid told the group, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Senate is expected to focus intently on healthcare upon returning to Washington in September, with an intense climate change bill debate expected to follow before the end of the year.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka acknowledged earlier this week that EFCA would have to wait until after healthcare reform is finished, but it’s unclear how long labor groups would be willing to wait for the Senate to take action on their top legislative priority.

Trumka had pledged to keep lawmakers accountable to pass the “card check” bill during a chat on the liberal blog firedoglake.

“We WILL PASS EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT legislation, we will not allow our ‘friends’ to pass on this essential part of an economic recovery solution!” he said.