Union 'Card-Check' Legislation Launched: Dems Seek To Eliminate Secret Ballots, Put Unions in Control

With a Democratic Administration in the White House and a Democratic majority in Congress, the pro-union party isn't wasting any time in furthering its agenda. Dems are sponsoring legislation to swell the ranks of union workers nationwide, including targeting businesses that have not traditionally been unionized.

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was introduced today by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., and Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

EFCA would eliminate the decades-old National Labor Relations Act (NLRB) requirement that union representation be decided in secret ballot elections supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead, the NLRB would be required to recognize a union if presented with signed authorization cards from a majority of workers. Under the legislation, union organizers – not the federal government – would oversee the process, effectively eliminating the employer from the election process. NRF is concerned because there are many examples where card check elections have been challenged on the basis of coercion, misrepresentation, forgery, fraud, peer pressure and promised benefits.

In addition, the legislation would automatically cut off negotiations over first union contracts if an agreement had not been reached in 120 days, instead requiring the parties to engage in binding interest arbitration. For the first time, employers and employees would be taken out of the negotiation process and government officials would be given unprecedented power to set wages and employment conditions in businesses across the country.

EFCA is one of organized labor’s top priorities as unions face declining membership, and labor leaders have said they plan to aggressively target a number of traditionally non-union industries – including retail and construction– if it is passed.

Steve Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, is strongly against the forced unionization of America's businesses.

“It is deeply disturbing that some in Congress would attempt to add yet another hardship to America’s workers by seeking to deprive them of the right to a free, fair and private vote," said Sandherr. "The proposed card check legislation is fundamentally unfair to millions of construction workers, will disrupt collective bargaining agreements already in place and will deprive workers and their employers of the right to set pay and work rules.”

“The legislation also takes important business decisions away from workers and employers and puts them into the hands of Washington-appointed arbitrators with little to no experience in construction. Our union and non-union members agree that this legislation will deprive workers of basic rights and distract the nation from what must still be done to jump start the economy. That is why our members have sent almost 11,000 messages to Congress in opposition to this legislation over the past several weeks, and that is why our 33,000 member companies and their employees will continue to be heard on this issue.”

The National Retail Federation also urged Congress to reject “card-check” legislation, saying it would effectively take away workers’ right to a secret ballot in union organizing elections.

“Secret ballot elections are a cornerstone of American democracy,” NRF Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Rob Green said. “Voters have a secret ballot when they go to the polls on Election Day, Congress has a secret ballot when lawmakers choose the leaders of the House and Senate, and we believe workers deserve a secret ballot when they choose whether to be represented by a union. We must not allow this fundamental right to be taken away.

“The Employee Free Choice Act would actually take ‘free choice’ away from workers and should be opposed by all members of Congress who support the democratic process both in politics and the workplace,” Green said.

NRF is leading the retail industry’s fight against the legislation. In 2007, NRF and other business groups formed the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace to coordinate efforts to educate the public and lawmakers about the measure, and NRF heads the coalition’s lobbying committee. In addition, NRF last year launched the Private Ballot Resource Center to provide information about the bill and its impact on the retail industry.