Immigration Reform Advances, Union Bill Stalls

UPDATE: The vote tally is in, and Sen. Salazar voted in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Sen. Allard voted nay. 6:20pm

The U.S. Senate has passed its first hurdle when it comes to immigration reform, by approving cloture by 64-35.

While at the same time, another proposal that would make it easier for unions to organize failed to obtain cloture.It was the second try for the immigration vote after failing earlier in the month. Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar—a architect of the bipartisan proposal—voted for the measure while Sen. Wayne Allard voted against it.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which was approved by the House and would make it easier for unions to organize in the work place when a majority of employees sign union cards, was not approved by Senate.

The measure had a lot in common with House Bill 1072, passed by the Colorado General Assembly and vetoed by Governor Bill Ritter.

More to come.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.

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