Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice Act and How it Will Impact You…The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or “card check” legislation, makes sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and increases the chances for any business to be unionized. Certain members of Congress have been working with organized labor to get this legislation passed immediately, and it could become law as early as 2009! It is critical that as an employer or employee, you are aware of how this bill will dangerously impact your workplace.
Why Current Law Works…The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) currently provides that if a labor organization seeks a collective bargaining agreement with a business, then signatures must be retrieved from at least 30% of the workers. If the signature requirement is met, a supervised secret ballot election is held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and a majority of the vote is required in order for a union to be certified by the NLRB. Right now, employees can vote by secret ballot process if they want their workplace unionized – a process that guarantees their privacy! Current law also protects employees from coercion, intimidation or harassment when they decide whether to join a union.
Michael Bennet: "'I don't have a position on EFCA. I think that legitimate points have been raised on both sides of the conversation, and I just want to hear from the constituencies, because I haven't. In my current role I have not had a direct conversation with anybody that's engaged in that policy discussion.'" (Sarah Burnett, "Bennet Kicks Off On-The-Job Training," The Rocky Mountain News, 1/19/09)