When Congress resumes next week, consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will likely be pushed aside in favor of healthcare reform. According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told members of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce that senators “have too many other things on our plate” to take up the controversial “card check” bill anytime soon.

As reported in The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, a few days earlier AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka similarly acknowledged that any deliberation on the divisive bill would not take place until after health reform is dealt with. During a web chat on the blog firedoglake, Trumka claimed that the “President/and [Rahm] Emanuel have both said they dont [sic] intend to bring Employee Free Choice Act up until Health Insurance Reform is done. Which gives us an additional reason to do Health Insurance Reform now!”

While no surprise, these statements are significant in that they are among the first public acknowledgements by supporters that consideration of EFCA will be delayed. However, given President Obama’s upcoming speech at the September AFL-CIO convention, further developments are possible.