Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Oppose the “Employee Free Choice Act”
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which includes dramatic amendments to the long-standing National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), would eliminate secret ballots in union organizing efforts. EFCA is expected to be re-introduced in Congress this year.
The Maryland Chamber opposes this bill, which would replace the current practice of federally supervised, secret ballot election with a “card check” process, allowing a union to organize if a majority of employees sign an authorization card.
Currently, the most common method for determining whether or not employees want a union to represent them is a secret ballot election overseen by the NLRB. The NLRB provides detailed procedures that ensure a fair election, free of fraud, where employees may cast their vote confidentially without peer pressure or coercion from unions or employers. EFCA would replace this process with a process called “card check,” where a union is recognized in a workplace if a majority of workers sign a card in the presence of union organizers and fellow employees who support unionization.
EFCA would also impose contract terms on private, unionized employers through compulsory, binding arbitration if the employer and a newly certified union are unable to reach a first contract within a specified amount of time. Currently, employers and unions are free to bargain as they please, without any legal obligation to reach agreement, so long as they both act in good faith. According to employment and labor relations law firm Shawe Rosenthal LLP, EFCA’s binding arbitration provision would limit the employer’s bargaining power and cost management critical leverage the negotiating the initial contract with the newly-formed union. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce cautions that forced arbitration would impose unreasonable, inflexible terms, causing an employer to lose control over their operations and preventing business growth.
In addition to these changes, EFCA significantly increases the penalties on employers for violations of the NLRA, but does not increase penalties for unfair labor practices committed by unions. As stated in a report by Littler Mendelson P.C. on EFCA and it’s potential effects, “The EFCA would, therefore, establish a card check procedure that would give unions great incentive to put undue pressure on employers to sign cards, without creating an enforcement structure to deter such conduct.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers predict that EFCA would have a devastating impact on small employers and would do little to support economic growth, especially in the current economic downturn.
Please contact your Senators and Representative to voice your opposition to EFCA. Click here to take action.
Additional Resources:
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The Employee Free Choice Act - the “Card Check” Bill
- National Association of Manufacturers: “Card Check” Toolkit
- Littler Mendelson: The Employee Free Choice Act: A Critical Analysis
