4/10/2009
“The Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” My View
By E. Roy Budd
Congress is now considering the passage of the “Employee Free Choice Act” (S.1041) – also referred to as “Card Check.” Since both of my parents were union members, I think I understand something about unions – why they were formed, their benefits, their weaknesses, and the reasons for their current decline in membership numbers. However, the proposed “Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” is not truly “Free Choice,” nor do I think it is beneficial or fair to the more than 100 million American workers, nor is it fair to business owners. In today’s economic downturn, it would severely damage the global cost competitiveness of American businesses of all types and sizes at a time when their existence is most vulnerable. I encourage you to carefully study this legislation before it is passed and make your own decision – don’t let the “Employee Free Choice Act” title mislead you.
The “Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” allows unions to establish representation through a card check process instead of the secret ballot system used by unions for generations and by Americans for over 200 years. Card check is a procedure where an employer must recognize a union once that union produces evidence that a majority (just over 50%) of the employees have signed authorization cards. Once a majority has signed, the union is certified – no election is required. The union has to only present their side of the story.
Here’s an example of how the procedure works. To keep things simple, we’ll assume that the employer, ABC Company, has 100 employees. A union interested in unionizing the workforce can go around to employees to get them to sign union cards. They may tell employees that signing the card is only showing interest in the union organizational process. They do not have to tell the employer or all of the employees that they are trying to win certification. Under card check, if the union gets 50% plus one of the employees to sign a union card they are certified – and that’s only 51 employees. In this case 49 employees may have had no opportunity to exercise their own rights to hear both sides, discuss and vote on unionization. Following certification, the union will offer a contract to the employer. If the employer does not agree with the union on the contract within 90 days, it automatically goes to an unsupervised mediation process utilizing a third party, where the contract may be forced on the business. The “Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” does not offer free choice – we have that now under the secret ballot, which the act will eliminate.
With so much at stake for the unions, the possibilities of employee intimidation come to mind. With the card check system, the union organizers know exactly which employees support them and which don’t – perhaps subjecting them to a misrepresentation of facts, psychological manipulation or the possibility of harassment. Personally, I’d much rather vote my free will in the secrecy of the current ballot box than having to tell a group of union organizers what my position is on unionizing where I work. I’ve been using the secret ballot box for local, state and national elections since being old enough to vote. Since the unions don’t have to inform the employers of the card check program, what rumors could be spread about a business or employees to coerce card check signings?
We know than union membership has been decreasing for decades – today about 12% of American workers are unionized – with union growth occurring in the governmental sector. Many laws exist to protect workers – safety, age, labor,
discrimination, working conditions, labor and more – an original purpose of the unions. Since Indiana is not a “Right to Work” state, when a business becomes unionized, all employees will be required to join the union and pay 1-2% of their wages as union dues – whether or not they support the union. In
Only a secret ballot system protects employees from both unions and employers and potential abuses. The current secret ballot system that is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would be eliminated by this act, perhaps opening the door for corrupt practices and intimidation. The proposed act undermines the democratic rights of all American employees and the rights, fairness and protection of the secret ballot to determine if the employees true desires in voting for or against union representation.
Why are many in Congress supporting this bill? The unions and their political action committees poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the campaigns electing President Obama. Quick passage of this act is a mistake.
Publicly signed union cards do not reveal an employees choice of free will. The process allows unscrupulous union organizers to threaten workers who may refuse to sign the card. Even when organizers obey the law, card-check allows union organizers to manipulate workers psychologically – by presenting only one side of the story and rushing them to make a quick “on-the-spot” decision to join the union with little time for thought. Since the organizers know the names and addresses of the holdouts, they may return to harass the employees to change their minds and sign the union card. The “Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” (S.1041) does not offer free choice to all the nation’s employees – and does not truly represent if the workers want to join a union. The government should not take the rights of over 100 million American workers to vote in privacy with a secret ballot when deciding to unionize.
If the “Card Check” bill (S.1041) is passed it would:
- Force millions of additional American workers to pay union dues under
the threat of losing their jobs
- Reduce the number of jobs in this country by encouraging employers
to outsource jobs
- Negatively place the American workforce in an unfavorable global
position
What can you do? Please contact our Indiana Senators and Representatives today to voice your position. Vote NO on the “Employee Free Choice Act / Card Check” – (S.1041).
Senator Richard G. Lugar
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone: 1-202-224-4814
Fax: 1-202-228-0360
Senator Evan Bayh
Building 40,
Phone: 1-202-224-5623
Fax: 1-202-228-1377
Congressman Daniel Burton (House District 5)
2308
Phone: 1-202-225-2276
Fax: 1-202-225-0016
(District 5 includes
Congressman Mike Pence (House District #6)
1605
Phone: 1-202-225-3021
Fax: 1-202-225-3382
District 6 includes
Randolph, Rush and
Letter written by:
E. Roy Budd Phone: 765.254.1420
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