Note: Specter co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act in 2004 and 2005.

Specter called the NLRB "dysfunctional" and calls for reform. In an MSNBC interview, Specter said that he voted for cloture "because I think labor law needs reform, and I went to great lengths in a long floor statement and even wrote a law review article on it, which I don't do often, to say that I thought we ought to take up the question. The National Labor Relations Board is dysfunctional. When it's controlled by Democrats, they're all for labor; controlled by Republicans, all for business. Some cases take 11 years. If the National Labor Relations Board -- it only has two members now, can't even have a meeting, can't even have a quorum. If the National Labor Relations Board had been functional, this big head of steam was not built up. [Transcript, MSNBC, 3/17/09]

Specter said he would vote in the interest of the nation and not along party lines. On the day the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced, Specter said "And I'm not going to be bound by party loyalty...My conscience tells me if it's in the interest of the nation or the state." [The Hill, 3/10/09]

Specter said that neither party would be able to influence his decision on EFCA. In an early March interview with the Associated Press, Specter said, when referring to the Employee Free Choice Act, that "I've been in this line of work long enough that people ... know my arm's not twistable." [Associated Press, 3/1/09]

During 2007 EFCA Debate, Specter Cited Stories of Employers Threatening and Coercing Workers. In 2007, Specter "said he has heard many stories of workers being denied the opportunity to organize a union, as well as stories of improper influence exerted by employers and labor organizers to influence the outcome of a union vote. 'I am talking about threats, spying, promises, spreading misleading information and other attempts to coerce workers and interfere with their right to determine for themselves whether they wish to be represented by a labor organization,' said Specter." [Patriot News, 6/27/07]

During 2007 EFCA Debate, Specter Lamented "Interminable" NLRB Delays. Speaking on the Senate floor during the 2007 Employee Free Choice debate, Specter said, "In 1954, 34.8 percent of the American workers belonged to unions. That number decreased in 1973 to 23.5 percent and in 1984 to 18.8 percent; in 2004, to 12.5 percent; and in 2006, to 12 percent. In taking a look at the practices by the National Labor Relations Board, the delays are interminable and unacceptable. By the time the NLRB and the legal process has worked through, the delays are so long that there is no longer a meaningful election. That applies both to employers and to unions, that the delays have been interminable." He went on to cite a number of examples, including Goya Foods and Fieldcrest Cannon. [Congressional Record, 6/26/07]