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The Employee Free Choice Act - What You Need to Know

Written by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: The Employee Free Choice Act is currently pending legislation, and if passed it may throw organized unions into a frenzy.

The Employee Free Choice Act - What You Need to Know

As a Human Resources Professional, you may be curious as to what the Employee Free Choice Act means to you and your company. You may be confused on how this applies to you and what you will need to do to adjust. Since many labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and American Rights at Work, have informed their constituents about the bill, as we like to do here at Astronology, we will break this proposed legislation down for you and clear up any confusion that may exist so you too can be educated on the issues at hand.

According to Wikipedia, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is proposed United States legislation which aims to “amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.”

Although the bill passed through Congress, it has since been held up in Senate and may face a presidential veto if it gets that far. If it becomes law, the Act would require the United States National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the exclusive representative of employees without an election where “a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations.” In addition, the Act would require parties who cannot agree upon the terms of a first collective bargaining contract within 120 days to submit the issues to an arbitration board, which would be empowered to settle the dispute. Finally, the Act would provide for liquidated damages of two times back pay for certain unfair labor practices.

This piece of legislation still faces an uphill climb. According to Workforce Management, most Democrats back the bill, which passed the House earlier this year. It was derailed in the Senate when Republicans blocked its consideration first through a filibuster and then through a lack of votes to allow the bill to move forward. Adding to the uphill battle was President Bush’s indication that he would veto the bill if it gained congressional approval.

Republicans accuse Democrats of pushing the bill as a payback for organized labor support in helping the party take control of Congress.

Business groups fiercely oppose the measure, saying that it would “curtail workplace democracy and enable unions to strong-arm employees into supporting collective bargaining. Critics also assert that the bill is designed to bolster sagging union membership, which has dipped to 12 percent of U.S. employees.”

“The so-called Employee Free Choice Act is as cynical in name as it is in its intention,” said Alexa Marrero, communications director for Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee. “This is a bill that strips workers of the fundamental right to a secret-ballot election, which explains why it has been soundly rejected in the court of public opinion.”

To counter this sentiment, almost 200 trade union leaders from around the world went to Washington, D.C. to press for union rights for United States workers on December 11th, according to UNI Global Union. A similar visit was held in Minnesota, according to The Union Advocate, where AFL-CIO leaders tried to convince lawmakers that workers’ rights were human rights.

As the Wall Street Journal wrote, some experts say the summits won’t likely change the chances for the act passing. “[Labor leaders] are not going to be able to move much on this political-legislative front,” says Marick Masters, a professor of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, say that union membership is declining around the world because companies, needing to remain competitive, have shed unionized jobs to lower labor costs. They also say workers are less interested in joining unions because labor conditions have improved in many countries.

“Unions have failed to organize workers here in the private sector, so to distract from that failure they fall back on these global conferences which frankly will likely wind up with nothing practical getting done,” said Randel Johnson, vice president of labor policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) has declared their stance on the issue. SHRM opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, according to the Human Resource Association for the National Capital Area (HRA-NCA), because it would take away the right of employees to a federally supervised, private ballot in union elections.

SHRM is a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a partnership of employee and employer organizations that are advocating on behalf of workers’ rights to a secret ballot when they are deciding whether or not to join a union. Specifically, SHRM opposes the bill based on the following provisions of the legislation:

* Union Certification through Signed Authorization Card — The bill would force employees to make public their decision on whether or not to support a union. Under the bill, their decision would be made known to union officials, their employer, and their co-workers. HR professionals are deeply concerned that, by eliminating the secret ballot, the bill would actually take away an employee’s private and “free choice,” expose employees to coercion, and promote a threatening work environment for employees.

* First Contract Arbitration — The bill would effectively send any bargaining disputes to binding arbitration after 120 days — 90 days of negotiations and 30 days of mediation — on a first contract. HR professionals believe that mandatory binding arbitration is unnecessary because it would provide motivation for either a union or employer to engage in bad faith bargaining until the end of the 90-day period, thus allowing an arbitrator to impose unwanted employment conditions on both employees and management.

“The Employee Free Choice Act is anything but,” states National Director Michael Maciekowich. “The proposed legislation erodes the rights of both workers and organizations. Effective HR practitioners must be educated on the terms of the proposed legislation – what it means for them, their organizations, and the workplace in general – and act accordingly. Now is the time to make sure your voice, either for or against the proposed legislation, is heard by your elected officials.”

This bill still has a while and a lot of hurdles before it can become a law. We will be updating the latest developments, as we always do with stories we run in Astronology, on our blog.

Related Articles
  Negligent Hiring
  How To Become An Entrepreneur From An Employee
  Flexible Work Arrangements: Why Should You Offer Them?
  Plain English Guide to Employee Handbooks
  The Power to Influence Your Employees

Article Tags: afl cio, arbitration board, astronology, authorizations, brotherhood of teamsters, choice act, efca, efficient system, free choice, international brotherhood of teamsters, labor groups, labor organizations, labor relations board, national labor relations, national labor relations board, presidential veto, unfair labor practices, uphill climb, wikipedia, workforce management



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