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Published Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 | 5:26 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 | 5:26 p.m.
We Don’t Ask
Hope and Change
It's almost like election season never ended. With Congress back in session, here come the issue ads.
One labor issue we can expect to see lots of activity on is the hotly contested Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would allow unions to organize without secret ballot elections and would institute binding arbitration when contract negotiations stall. Basically, workers would only have to sign a card to support organizing (many of the hospitality workers on the Strip are already organized in this fashion).
President-elect Barack Obama said he supports the legislation and it is expected to easily pass the House. But the rubber hits the road in the Senate, where both sides expect a protracted fight. So far there doesn't seem to be the needed votes to pass the bill.
To keep the pressure on those who pledged support and to help persuade the undecided, union activist group American Rights at Work is launching a nationwide TV ad campaign tomorrow. The commercials, playing on Obama's theme of hope and change, will air on the cable news networks and Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show" for two weeks.
The group says the bill is critical to reversing an employer advantage during union elections.
While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says it doesn't have immediate plans for rebuttal ads, the organization, which is the leading opposition to the bill, will air ads of its own at some point. During the election, the Chamber’s ads portrayed the bill as opening the door to workers being unscrupulously pressured to sign the card by union bosses.
Myth vs. Reality: The REALITY is the Employee Free Choice Act Helps American Workers and their Families.
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
http://efcanow.blogspot.com/
As more and more working Americans struggle to make ends meet, the ability to form a union is key to the economic stability, health, and well-being of American families. Union workers' median weekly earnings are 30 percent higher than those of non-union workers, union workers are 63 percent more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance, and union workers are 77 percent more likely to have short-term disability benefits. According to a recent poll, nearly 60 percent of Americans would join a union if they could. (AFL-CIO, "The Union Difference: Union Advantage by the Numbers.")
Loopholes in our current labor laws have left millions of workers vulnerable to aggressive anti-union campaigns, in which unscrupulous employers intimidate, harass, and even fire workers who try to form unions. Even when they succeed in forming a union -- often despite intense pressure from their employers -- nearly one-third of newly-organized workers are unable to enter into a collective bargaining agreement. The widespread failure to attain a first contract is due in large part to the lack of effective penalties for employers that fail to bargain in good faith.
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), sponsored by Senate and House Democrats, would level the playing field and restore workers' freedom to form unions and collectively bargain by: 1) strengthening penalties for companies that coerce or intimidate employees; 2) establishing mediation and binding arbitration guidelines when employers and workers cannot agree on a first contract; and 3) enabling employees to form unions when a majority express their desire to do so by signing authorization cards.
Despite the need for reform, critics of EFCA continue to misinform the public about the bill and hide the serious shortcomings of current labor law. Democrats are committed to setting the record straight and passing this important legislation on behalf of American workers and their families.
For More Information on EFCA please visit our website and blog
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
http://efcanow.blogspot.com/
This would just give employers another reason to ship jobs overseas. Remember there are still 800,000,000 chinese peasants over there who what your job.
Want to know what unions do to industries? Just look at the auto and textile industries in this country.
It is not the evil company that prevents unions, it's the fact that many feel, UNIONS DO NOT WORK IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, and mostly just take dues and cause layoffs.
In the 50's when unions were strong there was no card check. Card check is just an excuse.
Card check is absolutely undemocratic and shows how low unions can go.