The Employee Free Choice Act

Legislators in both houses of Congress yesterday introduced new legislation for the “Employee Free Choice Act,” a measure that would allow workers to unionize once the majority of employees sign cards saying they want a union. -----

Posted Tuesday, March 10, 2009 by Christy Harvey, Mic Check Radio

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  • The Employee Free Choice Act

Boeing Machinists union members count ballots after voting on a new contract offered by the company. (AP/Stephen Brashear)

Know Five Things
1. What Is It?
The bill would a) Allow workers the choice to organize a union through a simple majority sign-up process; b) Raise penalties when the law is violated and c) promote productive first contract negotiations with a mediation and arbitration option. Tuesday’s legislation was proposed in the House by Rep. George Miller (D., MA) and in the Senate by Sen. Tom Harkin (D., IA). [NY Times]

 

 

2. What It Isn’t
An End To Secret Ballots: Here’s the bottom line. Currently, there are two basic ways employees can unionize. The Long Way: Employees get the signatures of 30% of the workers who want to unionize on a petition; after turning in the petition, employers then allow them to hold a secret ballot election (at a time scheduled by the employers). The Faster Way: Employees can use the “card check” option, whereby a union is formed once a majority of employees sign cards saying they want to join. The Caveat: Right now, employers get to pick which method their employees may use. The Employee Free Choice Act would give the employees the choice of which method they want to use. Employees can still choose to use the secret-ballot method to unionize, if they want. Under the secret ballot method, corporations have used coersive tactics like mandatory anti-union meetings, dubious predictions about lay-offs and one-on-one meetings with supervisors to determine worker support for the union. [Greenville OnLine] [CBS News]

 

3. Why Unions Matter
According “to the AFL-CIO, union members are 52 percent more likely to have job-provided health care, nearly three times more likely to have guaranteed pensions, and earn 28 percent more than nonunion workers.” [Huffington Post]

4. Union Organizers Are Vulnerable
Pro-union organizers frequently get fired while trying to set up a union. A report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds “one-in-five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their activities in a union election campaign. Since 2000, illegal firings have marred over one-in-four NLRB-sponsored union elections, reaching 30 percent of elections in 2007.” [CEPR]

5. The Pressure Is On
According to the New York Times, “Business groups bitterly oppose the bill, fearing that it would create a surge in successful unionization drives.” Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business say they’re spending around $200 million on lobbying and a media campaign to try to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. The Chamber of Commerce also flew around 150 executives from local businesses into DC yesterday to apply pressure on their representatives. [NY Times] [Bloomberg]


Read Additional Resources
“CAPAF Supports Employee Free Choice Act,” David Madland, Center For American Progress, 03/10/09 [CAP]

  • Excerpt: “...The Employee Free Choice Act holds the promise of restoring workplace democracy for workers attempting to organize, boosting unionization rates, and improving the economic standing and workplace conditions for millions of American workers…”

 

“Unions Are Good for the American Economy,” David Madland and Karla Walter, Center for American Progress, 02/18/09 [CAP]

  • Excerpt: “...If unionization rates were the same now as they were in 1983 and the current union wage premium remained constant, new union workers would earn an estimated $49.0 billion more in wages and salaries per year…”

 

“Employee Free Choice Act, Myth vs. Fact,” Senate Committee on Education and Labor.[Myth vs. Fact]

  • Excerpt: “...The legislation simply gives workers the choice of forming their union through an election or through majority sign-up. The majority sign-up process has been a widely used path to union representation since 1935, but workers may only use the majority sign-up process currently if their employer agrees. The Employee Free Choice Act puts that choice in the hands of employees rather than their employer…”

 

“Employee Free Choice Act: All You Need To Know,” Huffington Post, 03/10/09[HuffPo]

  • Excerpt: “...there are three main goals of EFCA. 1)Remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining. 2) Guarantee that workers who can choose collective bargaining are able to achieve a contract. 3) Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation…”

 


Talk to An Expert
Interested in talking with an expert on this topic or hosting a speaking event? Contact speakers@campusprogress.org.

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