In the debate over the grossly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (more accurately called the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill), union bosses have gone out of their way to convince the media that the bill does not eliminate the secret ballot in workplace unionization drives.
But legal experts here at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have examined the bill and the state of the current law and come to the following conclusion:
Under the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill, the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that refer to the secret ballot election would be rendered a dead letter, even though they are not technically stricken from federal law.
Big Labor spin artists can claim all they want that the workers can still "choose" to have a secret ballot election, but there simply is no way by which workers can force union bosses to file for a secret ballot election -- and it is union bosses, not workers, who are in possession of the cards. Reporters who repeat this union boss talking point owe their readers a correction.
The simple fact is that professional union organizers hold tremendous power in a unionization drive. If this forced unionism power grab becomes law, workers will only be privy to the information union bosses disseminate.
The text of the bill clearly states that once union bosses collect a simple majority of signed cards, "the [National Labor Relations] Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative" or monopoly bargaining agent of all employees in the unit.
As former NLRB member John Raudabaugh told U.S. Senators last year,
Were the union to come up short of 50+ percent signed cards, would it really proceed to file a petition for an election? No, the secret ballot would not remain an option under the EFCA proposal.
If union bosses can't get a majority through card check -- a process during which many workers sign cards not due to actual support for the union but due to lies and intimidation by union organizers -- they obviously won't be able to win through the more fair and private secret ballot process. As James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation and Paul Kersey of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy note,
An election would occur only when union organizers submit cards signed by a minority of workers; but union organizers do not call for an election without signed cards from a majority of workers. They know that unions usually lose these elections. The AFL-CIO's internal studies show that unions win only 8 percent of elections that are called after less than 40 percent of workers have signed cards.
Less obvious, however, is that union bosses don't think they can win secret ballot elections even if they collect a simple majority of cards. Sherk and Kersey explain (emphasis mine):
Consequently union guidelines call for organizers to collect cards from 60 to 70 percent of workers in a company before going to the polls. Unions openly state that they do not go to an election without a supermajority of cards:
1. International Brotherhood of Teamsters: "The general policy of the Airline Division is to file for a representation election only after receiving a 65 percent card return from the eligible voters in a group."
2. New England Nurses Association: "Have 70-75 percent of members sign cards; if unable to reach this goal, review plan."
3. Service Employees International Union (SEIU): "[T]he rule of thumb in the SEIU is that it's unwise to file for an election when fewer than 70 percent of the workforce has signed interest cards."
The secret ballot is much better than the alternative in workplace unionization drives because of what monopoly unionization actually means in practice under the law. Once a union is in place, it is virtually impossible to remove it. More importantly, independent-minded workers who would prefer to represent themselves, or even workers who would prefer a different union's representation, are forced to accept the certified union as their monopoly bargaining agent. And unless those workers live in one of 22 states with Right to Work protections, they will be forced to pay dues to an unwanted union.
In other words, an individual worker's desire to belong to a particular union -- or indeed the collective desire of a simple majority of workers in a unit -- is different from an individual's desire to belong to any other private organization. The decision forces one's coworkers -- current and future -- to also accept the "representation" of this particular union. A secret ballot can't overcome this fundamental violation of individual rights, but at the very least, the secret ballot provides workers with a degree of protection against intimidation. And that protection will be lost under EFCA.
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Employee Free Choice Act
What the Employee Free Choice Act Means for Employees and Employers.
A dark tempest is brewing over the employee and employer work relationship. That Perfect Storm is the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The EFCA (H.R. 1409 and S. 560), is widely expected to pass in some form. The Democratic Party is heavily indebted to organized labor for their financial and political support.
Congress will feel the need to show populist support for labor unions. There is a very real possibility that the EFCA will become the labor law of the land!
What does this mean for both the Employees and the Employer?
The National Labor Relations Act, for over 70 years, has recognized a labor union as the official bargaining agent representing employees only after the union wins a secret ballot election. The Employee Free Choice Act will require an employer to recognize a union after the authorization cards (‘Card Check’) are signed by a simple majority of 50% or more of the eligible workers, with NO SECRET BALLOT ELECTIONS.
NO SECRET BALLOT ELECTIONS ARE REQUIRED!!
• There will be no opportunity for management to explain their reasons for opposing unionization!
• Even those employees who oppose unions will be required to become union members, against their free will!
• Co-workers and company management will know exactly how all the employees voted!
• As the employee, you will loose the right to the secret ballot election process!
• As the employer, you will loose control of your company!
Current labor laws allow a free exchange of ideas from both the employers and the union organizers. The employees are presented with facts, and opinions, from both the union and management. The employees have the time to understand their choices and options.
Under current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules, the employees have the rights under a free democracy, to cast their secret ballots in privacy, and without coercion.
The basic rules of a democracy include secret ballot elections, only after the people have had an opportunity to understand the issues, and form an independent opinion free from peer pressure.
After all, how would you like it if you went to your polling place after a two-minute lecture from only one political party and only one viewpoint, and then forced to stand in a big room, in front of your co-workers, and family, waving a card voting YES or NO?
Yet, that is exactly what the EFCA expects workers to do!
Labor unions should adhere to the basic rules of democracy, which include a secret ballot election. We expect the privacy and security of a secret ballot election.
The Employer Free Choice Act is Vital to Union Survival.
Organized labor considers the EFCA vital to the survival of the labor movement. Labor has pledged to spend over $300 million on securing passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. SEIU, the Service Employees International Union said the legislation would enable it to organize a million workers per year, up from its current pace of one hundred thousand workers per year.
Labor unions have experienced a steady decline in dues paying membership, industry saturation, and political power. Organized labor has made the “Employee Free Choice Act” (H.R. 1409 and S. 560) its highest legislative priority.
The Employee Free Choice Act would drastically increase the number of unionized workers, because it will simplify and speed labor’s ability to unionize companies.
The EFCA specifically bars the National Labor Relations Board from holding an election if a union turns in cards from a simple majority of employees!
Simply put, if 50% plus one of employees signs a card, the union is recognized as the legal bargaining agent for ALL the employees of your business unit.
** Corporate America wants less union influence. **
** Unions want more influence in corporate America. **
Instead, the Free Choice, or “card check” legislation would let unions form if more than 50% of workers simply sign a card saying they want to join. It is far easier for unions to get workers to sign cards because the union organizers can canvass workers repeatedly, over a period of weeks or months, until the union obtains the support needed.
The union organizers job is to recruit new dues-paying members to their union. They are trained to perform a four-part house call strategy that includes Introductions, Listening, Agitation, Union Solution, and Commitment.
The goals of the union organizer are to quickly establish a trust relationship with the worker, move from talking about what their job entails to what they would like to change about their job, agitate them by insisting that management will not fix their workplace issues without a union, and finally convincing the worker to join the union by signing a card.
The Major Items of the EFCA Include:
The Employee Free Choice Act, would provide injunctions for specified Unfair Labor Practices (known as ULP’s), during union organizing drives and prior to union certification.
• When the NLRB certified the union, the parties would have 90 days to come to acceptable ‘First Contract’ terms, after which either party could ask the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to mediate the differences.
• If mediation fails after 30 days, the contract would be referred go binding arbitration. The decision of the arbitrator is final and a two-year contract is binding on all parties.
• The EFCA provide damages equal to twice-back pay, if the company violated certain Unfair Labor Practices, after recognition as the bargaining agent.
There are other civil penalties attached to the bill, designed to force employers to sign a ‘First Contract’ and to reduce intimidation and retribution for workers involved in unionizing attempts.
For example:
• Civil Penalties: Provides for civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation against employers, who have been found to willfully or repeatedly violate employees’ rights during an organizing campaign or first contract drive.
• Treble Back Pay: Increases the amount an employer is required to pay when an employee is discharged or discriminated against during an organizing campaign or first contract drive to three times back pay.
• Mandatory Applications for Injunctions: “…the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe the employer has discharged or discriminated against employees, threatened to discharge or discriminate against employees or engaged in conduct that significantly interferes with employee rights during an organizing or first contract drive. It authorizes the courts to grant temporary restraining orders or other appropriate injunctive relief.” (www.employeefreechoiceact.org).
** As an employer, you may never know a union has arrived at your front door, until after the union becomes the official bargaining agent for your workers. **
Companies may not be aware of an organizing drive until after the union has collected the required authorization cards. The employer may be denied the opportunity to exercise their rights of free speech, and to present the companies side of the story.
Union Political Strength:
EFCA is another example of union political strength. It is a crucial piece of pro-labor legislation, and if enacted as labor wants, will help the labor movement regain the strength in numbers, and the political power it once had. Unions have flexed their political and lobbying muscle to push this bill. The Democratic Party needs to pay back the unions for their huge financial and political support.
THE EFCA IS ORGANIZED LABORS REWARD!
Labor unions need to win pro labor legislation, to prove to their membership that they are viable and have the political muscle. Organized labor still wields strong political power, has the ability to bring out large voting blocks for candidates that support its goals, and can bring down opposing candidates.
Unions will be able to organize more workers, in more industries, easier, and thus grow stronger, faster, and more powerful.
Management organizations oppose the EFCA, for the reasons unions support it. It is considered in the best interest of corporate America to remain union free, and the Employee Free Choice Act would increase unionization.
Labor Union Membership is Down:
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, labor union membership and union density, a measurement of the percentage of unionized workers, had reduced to about 7% of private sector workers, and about 12% of all unionized workers, down from about 35% of all workers in the 1950’s. Unions have seen better days, and have experienced a rapid decline in saturation, as companies search for lower cost business models.
Organized Labor is Very Big Business:
Organized Labor is Big Business with “union income about $10 billion per year” (http://www.unionfreeamerica.com/duesforpolitics.htm). If labor unions were publicly traded companies, the balance sheets of the AFL-CIO and the larger unions are impressive, and would command high stock prices.
Organized labor desperately needs new industries and new members!
Increased union membership translates directly to increased dues income. The larger the base of dues paying unionized workers, equals stronger economic power, which buys greater political influence.
Follow the Money:
For labor unions to grow, they must organize and create more dues paying members. The basic business model for labor growth is “organize or perish.” Dues paying union membership are the lifeblood of the labor movement, and are the major income source and reason for being. For labor unions, the EFCA is all about increasing membership faster, and at a lower per capita cost, which will strengthen unions financially and politically.
FOR UNIONS IT IS A STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL!!
The alternative is less relevance, irrelevance, or extinction. The nature of work has changed, and unions have failed to evolve with this change, just as dinosaurs became extinct because they were not able to evolve with the climatic changes.
** The Employee Free Choice Act is organized labors salvation from irrelevance! **
For more information about the Employee Free Choice Act and Organized Labor, please read a new book called:
"IS ORGANIZED LABOR A DECAYING BUSINESS MODEL?"
The book is available from the publisher: http://www.outskirtspress.com/chrismosquera.
It is also available on line from:
www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com
© 2009 Chris Mosquera. All Rights Reserved.
Email: chrismosquera5@yahoo.com
my suggestion is to have
my suggestion is to have them move to a right to work for less state one of the 22 that you folks are so proud of
my suggestion is to have
You should be careful not to inflict yourself with some bad karma here. What if it's you that has to move to a "right to work for less state"... just so you can have a job? Companies that aren't competitive because of high employee wages and benefits won't be around in the future. AND, they really can't rely on the taxpayers to bail'em out.
E.F.C.A.
My take on this piece of legislation is as follows:
The E.F.C.A. will take away the employers own ability to intimidate their employees prior to a Unionization drive. I have been a victim in these captive employer meetings. So much bullshit comes out of the employers mouths regarding those BAD union folks that I swear I was standing in a field of bulls! I hpoe this law passes so that people like me can be free to join a Union. Boy, could I use a Union now! I am tired of my boss telling me how I should think. I want to think for me, not them. I will still be a good employee, union or not, but let me decide that!
EFCA
Why, sir, are you afraid of allowing employees the option of a secret ballot? That simple ability to make a decision, free of coercion from EITHER side, in the privacy of a voting booth, is the foundation of democracy. Why should it be different for unionization? Is it because you know the majority of workers, given a truly FREE CHOICE, will opt not to be in a union?
Card Check
I had the unfortunate experience of getting on the wrong side of a business agent for the Upholster's Union. My father's company makes corrugated boxes. The guy sent my dad a letter ordering him to fire me and also sent a very large person to "talk" to me. So please don't tell me about how bad employers are. Do a little checking with union members you know and find out what happens to people who lip off to the higher-ups.
union cards
Seems to me that we might still have work available in the "Work for Less States" as the rest of the states send their manufacturing out of America! Buck-up, get to work as we have a job to do and that is leadership of the world. So lead!
Seems to me
Most states with a higher percentage of unionized employees are having a harder time making ends meet fiscally. If one were to do the math it is clear that states with high number of union employees cannot sustain themselves. Unions had their place in society at one point in American history but it appears now that they only make things worse by extorting money out of companies. This is another reason that a lot of companies manufacture goods in China where labor is cheap! If the union folks would be rational a quit demanding higher wages a company could afford to employee more people, or just stay in business.
more on cardcheck
This my opinion only. I believe that Wal-mart is possibly the slimiest company in the United States. These people put little guys out of business (in small towns) and then charge the lowest price they can get away with in that area.
Having said that, if I ran Wal-Mart, and they ran card-check through one of my stores to force a union. I would padlock the doors the very next day.
I used to own a small company and I told my unionized employees that if they went on strike, they would never see the inside of my business again. Unions have to remember that everything cuts both ways
unions, walmart, and the inocent bystander
I would agree that unions, especially the big ones aren't worth anything. one year getting in an out of college was a major pain due to the fact the union that the city buss drivers was in was having some mass strike, for something that had nothing to do with the city bus. But they still couldn't drive the busses up to the actual school but only to a spot 1/4 mile away. I would of loved to strangle the union bosses and make him walk that route twice a day in a Minnesota winter. all they would of had to of done is make that "bad management" walk the same path us students who had no involvement at all in the issue the strike was actually about had to do because of their arrogance and I bet they would of given in much sooner. It got to the point the school itself was paying a taxi company to shuttle students between the school and the city buss stop so they wouldn't lose their students.
Another time when I was working for a company, and in one of those unions, I had believed their lies and so I joined their ranks then one day an accident happened. I was not at fault nor was it anything big turns out all that happened was some paint got scratched off, and it was a very minor repair yet I didn't report it right away as up to that point they where more concerned about getting the guest from point a to point b, so I figured it could wait. the person who was at fault was never heard from again at the , since the damage was only superficial. The person at fault I never saw after that and, even with the unions "help" I still was given a day off with out pay. And that was for the first time I had ever done anything like that. Also I had the same lack of schedule happen to me again. I was supposed to be in the group that had priory to what hours where avail during the slow months being a union full time employee. Yet I saw plenty of their seasonal help was there and working when I was given part time or less hours. Twice I got burned by a union. plus I think the original intent of a union got lost once these "unions" started to represent more then one company because no longer do they care about the worker themselves just that they can get their dues from who ever is working there.
I would agree Wal-Mart is slimy. I've had the displeasure of working for them. And was a few times put into no win situations and yelled at because I didn't win. Plus do you know what they do with schedules there? During the slower months they will just not schedule random people randomly. I was a full time employee for two years and during the summer the hours drop like crazy. It wasn't too bad for me the first year as I had a paid internship so I attributed it to that. The second time around I made sure they knew I didn't have another one lined up and I needed to keep my hours I was unofficially fired. Meaning while I was never called in and given a pink slip. For a solid month I had no days scheduled, despite my almost daily heckling them for some days to work doing something. After a while I gave up and got a job someplace else. Never did get called in for any official your done stuff.
Thank you!
I could not agree with you more. Look at california? Aren't they bankrupt now? I live in "RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH" state,and right now I filled a petition to decertify a union from the hotel I work at & the crap I go through is outrageous! The lies they tell, and how employee believe what they say is amazing. Our country is in debt and your promising a raise & free health insurance? PLEASE. I think right now we are lucky to have a dam job. What people need to do is be THANKFUL for what they have, re-evaluate their finances like the rest of the US!