From AAIA Capital Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many business groups in Washington thought that the announcements last spring by Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), that they would oppose labor-supported Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would signal its total demise for the current Congress. However, recent actions by some Senators to find a "compromise" have raised the hopes of labor unions that EFCA might well be advanced this year.
The most controversial aspect of EFCA is a provision that would eliminate the right of employers to require a secret ballot by employees to determine if a site will become unionized. One proposal that has been floated recently would slash the time for an organizing vote, requiring that it be held within as few as five days after 30 percent of workers had signed cards asking for a union. Today, the median time for a vote is 38 days. Other alternatives would prevent companies and management from presenting their side of the story to workers during a union campaign. While Labor supporters contend that management actions to educate workers amounts to a "captive audience," business groups contend that these meetings end up being one of management’s few opportunities to address workers, since companies are afforded the same outreach allowed to union organizers. Another proposal being discussed would still give union organizers access to company property.
One of the most contentious provisions in EFCA is a binding arbitration requirement which would provide that a federal arbitrator could impose a contract on a business if management and a newly-established union at a work site aren’t able to agree within 90 days. Some Senate Democrats are pushing to jettison the controversial card check provision and to simply include an arbitration provision in hopes of garnering the 60 votes necessary to get a victory for labor this session. Business groups have made it clear that the inclusion of the arbitration provision would still draw strong opposition.
For additional information on card check legislation, visit www.myprivateballot.com.
