The Employee Free Choice Act is causing Democrats grief in the Virginia gubernatorial race. It is no wonder that the Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell is starting to make hay over card check. One reason: the “Northern Virginia technology community is in an uproar about it.” The Washington Post reports:

“The legislation would undermine efforts to attract businesses to Virginia, which is a right-to-work state,” Northern Virgina Technology Council’s] executive director, Bobbie Kilberg, said. “If card check passes, it will embolden unions to try to overturn right-to-work laws,” she said.

[.   .   .]

[M]any local tech employers point to problems that have come from union dominance in the auto, steel and textile industries, in which salaries have, in some cases, risen to unsustainable levels.”It starts a spiraling process — wages just gradually rise and then eventually you aren’t competitive anymore,” said Bradford Schwartz, chief executive of Blue Canopy, a Reston-based IT consulting firm. ”Given the current economic climate, this could be the worst thing that could happen.”

(What do Virginia’s two U.S. Senators think the reaction will be if they vote for the bill?)

The Democratic gubernatorial contenders understandably have been trying to hide from this problem. One Democratic candidate, Brian Moran, lamely tried to duck the issue in a recent conference call:

 Moran sidestepped a question about the federal employee free choice — or card check — legislation. Last week, Republican Bob McDonnell said he is against the plan which he said could undermine Virginia’s right to work laws. Moran said he supports the state’s right-to-work laws and unions, but he wouldn’t stake out a position on the federal plan. ‘It’s a federal issue, Moran said. “I do not know how it would impact Virginia.”

Well, maybe he should consult those high-tech employers. They can explain it to him.