Legislation designed to make it easier for American workers to form unions is pitting business against labor. The bill, known as the Employee Free Choice Act, introduced in Congress last month, would amend the National Labor Relations Act and give workers the right to unionize after a majority of employees in a workplace sign cards saying they want to form a union.
Romney opposes
Under current labor law, the employer holds the power to decide whether to recognize a union through card checks or a secret ballot election. During a conference call yesterday with Workforce Fairness Institute Executive Director Katie Packer, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney expressed staunch opposition to the EFCA.
“The impact of legislation on our economy would be calamitous — we would lose millions of jobs,” he said. “In our current situation, we have a somewhat balanced employment picture through businesses coming and going. But if this provision is enacted, it would dramatically reduce entrepreneurs from taking their saved money and putting it into a new business, saying ‘I don’t know if I want to risk my life savings if I have a bureaucrat telling me the rules and how much my employees must be paid.’
WFI is funded by, and advocates on behalf of, “business owners who enjoy good working relationships with their employees, and would like to maintain those without the unfair interference of government bureaucrats, union organizers and special interests,” according to the organization. Packer refers to the legislation as the “Employee Forced Choice Act.”
“This is devastating to workers, small business and the American economy,” she said. “The elimination of a secret ballot vote constitutes a hostile takeover of business. If there is no contract in place after 120 days (once a business is unionized), the government appoints a bureaucrat to impose a contract.”
Romney and Packer, in their mention of “bureaucrats,” are referring to the binding arbitration provision of the EFCA, in which the government would step in 90 days after a business is unionized if the two sides have not come to terms on a contract for the workers. After another 30 days, the government would assign the case to an arbitrator who would decide the wage and benefit terms for the company for the next two years.
Obama supports
The EFCA was originally introduced in 2007 but failed to pass Congress. President Barack Obama was an original co-sponsor of the legislation, and made the following remarks to his senate colleagues during a 2007 motion to proceed.
“I support this bill because in order to restore a sense of shared prosperity and security, we need to help working Americans exercise their right to organize under a fair and free process and bargain for their fare share of the wealth our country creates.
“The Employee Free Choice Act offers to make binding an alternative process under which a majority of employees can sign up to join a union. Currently, employers can choose to accept – but are not bound by law to accept – the signed decision of a majority of workers. That choice should be left up to workers and workers alone.”
No commitment from Bennet
The Senate vote on the EFCA promises to be a close one that could be split down party lines. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is on the record as a supporter of the legislation but his fellow Senate Democrat, Michael Bennet, has not made his position known. Bennet’s office did not address the issue directly when contacted by the Denver Daily News but released a statement.
“Michael’s focus right now is on the many decisions we must make to create good paying jobs, jumpstart our economy and prepare our kids for the 21st century. This bill was recently introduced, and he will work with all interested parties to make the best decision for Colorado.”
