Could a New Labor Law in Oklahoma Force Business Doors Open to Unions?

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As union supporters once again put the Employee Free Choice Act before Congress, the Tulsa-based Labor Relations Institute offered a $10,000 prize to the first federal arbitrator to prove he or she had indeed settled a first contract between a union and private employer in less than 90 days.

Twenty days later, LRI Chief Executive Don Wilson said no one had met the challenge.

That plays a bit like theatrical flare, suggested University of Tulsa labor law professor James C. Thomas, since up to this point, those mediators primarily handled union disputes with municipalities and other government bodies - not private employers.

But that's a key point to …