Employee Free Choice Act – SHRM Position

Federal Legislative Action Alert!

YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED! The time is now to share the HR perspective on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)!

In virtually all cases, this legislation would take away the privacy and secret ballot voting rights of American employees in choosing whether they want to be represented by a union in the workplace.

If enacted, the Employee Free Choice Act would:

• Eliminate employees’ right to vote in a Federal government-administered, private ballot election
• Require binding arbitration within 120 days after a union is certified through a signed card collection process if the employer and the union are unable to reach an agreement
• Restrict an employer’s ability to communicate to employees about the workplace issues involved in the union organizing drive
• Create new fines against employers for an expanded list of unfair labor practices

SHRM has been actively engaged in opposing the EFCA in Congress for years.  Please use HR Voice to send a letter to your House representative and both of your senators and urge them to OPPOSE the Employee Free Choice Act.

Background

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) establishes two primary ways that employees are able to form or join a union:

1. Private ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (the Board). An election is initiated after a union has collected and submitted to the Board at least thirty percent of workers’ signed authorization cards. The Board certifies the union as the bargaining representative if a majority of employees voted in favor of the union, or,
2. Collection of signed authorization cards (known as the “card check” process, which is similar to signing a petition in favor of a union) from a majority of employees in a bargaining unit. A union submits the cards to the Board, and the Board subsequently recognizes that union as the sole bargaining agent on behalf of the relevant employees.

Employers usually select the first process and initiate an election for their employees because it is a superior format that best ensures employee privacy. The “card check” process, conversely, forces employees to make their union views known in public. Thus, card checks are most likely to expose employees to inappropriate coercion.

Legislation

The Employee Free Choice Act, sponsored by Representative George Miller (D-CA) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would amend the NLRA to allow unions to use the “card check” process each time they try to organize workers. The proposed measure would effectively eliminate the private ballot election during union organizing campaigns by requiring the Board to certify any union that secures a simple majority of signatures through the card check process.

Furthermore, once a union is certified through card checks, the EFCA would lead to binding arbitration on a two-year contract after only 120 days. The bill would direct the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to refer management-labor disputes on first contracts to an arbitration board after 90 days of collective bargaining and 30 days of mediation.

SHRM’s Position

SHRM believes in the fundamental right of every employee to make his or her own choice on union representation. For this reason, SHRM aggressively opposes the Employee Free Choice Act because it would take away the right of employees to a federally supervised, private ballot in union elections.

Furthermore, SHRM opposes these specific aspects of the bill:

• Circumvention of Private Ballot Election—The bill would force employees to make their important decision on whether or not to support a union in public—potentially in front of their co-workers, union organizers and others who have a stake in the organizing process. SHRM strongly believes the secret ballot election process is the best way to ascertain a worker’s true view on union representation. By eliminating the private ballot, SHRM believes 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.
• Binding Arbitration on First Contracts—The bill would end bargaining negotiations after only 120 days—90 days of negotiations and 30 days of mediation—and force a two-year contract on both the employer and employees. SHRM believes that mandatory binding arbitration provides motivation for either a union or employer to engage in bad faith bargaining until the end of the negotiating period. Finally, the EFCA would lead to an arbitrator to impose unwanted employment conditions on both employees and management.
• One-sided penalties—The bill would establish additional penalties, including back pay plus liquidated damages, on employers that discriminate against employees during organizing drives. The bill creates no new penalties for labor organizations that engage in coercive conduct during organizing campaigns.

Action Needed

Write or call your elected officials in Washington today! Your congressional representatives need the benefit of your expertise and your viewpoint on the Employee Free Choice Act before the private rights of employees are changed.

To write your elected official using HRVoice, follow these steps:

• Log onto HR Voice by clicking HERE and enter your member number and last name.
• Under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues,” click on: “OPPOSE the Employee Free Choice Act”
• Feel free to personalize your letters by including specific information about the organization you work for, your experiences in the workplace, and why this legislation would negatively impact your organization. Just place your cursor on the text of the letter where you would like to edit.