I’ve been told by several reliable sources that (as David notes below) Sen. Specter, the only Republican senator to vote for EFCA the last time it was introduced, has said that he will not vote for cloture. This leaves EFCA proponents at least one vote shy of the magic 60.

This is a big blow to labor and compels them to look at alternatives such as “equal access” and/ or “quickie elections.” But their bargaining position in securing such alternatives has been appreciably weakened.