Our predecessors in the American labor movement fought hard
for one thing above all others: the right to organize. After many years
of bitter struggle, many jobs lost, much blood shed, and many families
put to the tests of poverty, they succeeded in getting a simple rule
written into law: If employees want a union to represent them, they
can have one.
Or so we thought. Because of bad laws and employer abuse, the promise
of the right to organize gets broken far too often these days. The National
Labor Relations Board’s election process, as it exists today, enables employers
to block employees’ desire for a union much too easily. Employers faced
with organizing drives routinely fire employees in retaliation and get away
with it. Even when an employer is found guilty of unlawfully firing a union
supporter, the penalty is minimal. As a result, employers have little reason to
follow the law and play fair when employees are trying to vote in a union.
With a new Democratic majority in Congress, however, there’s finally a
chance to breathe some life back into right to organize. The Employee Free
Choice Act (EFCA), which the union movement has promoted for years, has
been put before the new Congress with bipartisan sponsorship. The House
has already approved it, and it’s now under consideration in the Senate.
If it became law, the Employee Free Choice Act would do three critically
important things.
First, it would require employers to recognize a union if a majority of
the workers signed cards authorizing union representation. This method
provides a quick and reliable way to make the employees’ desire for a
union effective—and it avoids the complicated processes of a full NLRB
election, which employers have learned to exploit so well. Representation
through a card majority is particularly important in our fast-paced industry,
where a job could be over before an NLRB election could ever be run.
Second, the Act would increase the penalties for unlawful conduct in
organizing. Employers who willfully break the law during organizing or negotiations
for a first contract would face civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation,
and employees who are unlawfully fired in such circumstances would
be entitled to triple back pay. In addition, employers would be subject to
injunctions for unlawful conduct during organizing and first-contract drives.
Third, the Act would provide for mediation and binding arbitration
when negotiations for a first contract fail. This provision is important
because even when the union wins recognition, employers frequently
refuse to agree to a first contract.
The Employee Free Choice Act presents the first opportunity in years for
a change in federal law that could actually improve employees’ ability to
negotiate for better lives. We must do everything we can to make sure this
bill gets approved by the full Congress. Write your Congressperson or Senator
to tell them to vote for the bill, and make the right to organize a reality once
again.
EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT (EFCA)
The Act has passed in the House.
You are urged to petition Congress to support passage in the Senate.
For more information, go to:
http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/whatyoucando.cfm
Employee Free Choice Act Vote Is June 20th! - Click here to Take Action!
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