Chalk up another victory for the union free labor force.

 The Senate passed the Federal Aviation Administration bill on Monday, Feb 6th,  that includes legislative rules bitterly opposed by the air line unions.

The bill (pdf here) fully funds the FAA until 2015 and brings existing legislation up to date with regard to union/airline concerns.  Negotiations for its passage began some four years ago.  The debate became so disruptive,  due to the bullying tactics of union supporters,  that the FAA actually shut down for a short time, the result of protests to the House version of this bill.   I am certain that the unions wished this legislation had passed through congress before the Republicans took back the House,  but it didn't and, on Monday, after the bill had been approved in the House,  passed through the Senate by a one-sided 75 to 20 count.  

Among the controversial provisions were changes to labor law for rail and airline workers -- backed by the airline industry -- that would count anyone who did not vote in an election for a union as voting against it, making it much more difficult to certify attempts to organize new unions.  This allows workers,  fearful of union retaliation,  to either absent themselves from the vote or turn in a blank ballots, and. still. have an effect on the outcome.  

Ha, turns out there is more than one way to beat a bully and do so with his own tactics.