The election of President Barack Obama was a victory for unions. And it was a victory that was made possible -- in no small part -- by the financial support and voter mobilization efforts of unions.

Union support of a Democratic candidate for president is nothing new, of course. Philip Dine, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and author of "State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence," points out that the labor movement and Democrats have been allied philosophically since the era of FDR and the New Deal.

Still, the historic election of Obama gave rise to a new level of optimism and expectations among the labor movement, which viewed the confluence of a Democratic president, a Democratic congress and anti-Bush backlash as its window of opportunity for labor reform -- particularly passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

"In October of 2008, if someone would've said to us, ‘Look, you can get 58, 59 Democrats in the U.S. Senate who are on the record in one way or another supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, and [Barack] Obama -- who's a co-sponsor of the bill -- as president, and Joe Biden -- a co-sponsor of the bill -- as vice president,' we'll just do that deal now," says Tim Waters, director of rapid response for the United Steelworkers (USW), referring to union optimism toward the prospects of EFCA.

While the election of Obama ushered in what Dine describes as "arguably the most pro-labor administration since LBJ," other more pressing priorities -- such as the economy and health care reform -- have pushed EFCA to the back burner.

"We're the closest to labor law reform that we've been in 40 or 50 years," asserts the United Steelworkers' Tim Waters (pictured above).

"The attempt to get a health care bill sort of sucked all the oxygen out of the room," asserts David Zonderman, a labor history professor at North Carolina State University. "I don't think anyone would disagree -- whether you're in favor of or against [health care reform] -- that it has taken up a phenomenal amount of legislative time."

Even so, "we've still seen a number of big changes" in labor policy, asserts Reggie Belcher, a partner with the law firm of Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney PA and co-chair of the labor subcommittee for DRI, a Chicago-based organization of defense lawyers.

There was a flurry of activity early on, starting with Obama's first piece of legislation as president: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Signed into law on Jan. 29, 2009, the act reverses a 2007 Supreme Court decision by restarting the statute of limitations for unlawful pay discrimination claims each time an employee receives a discriminatory paycheck.

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