Labor Issue of 2008 Election - The Employee Free Choice Act
By Candice Boyd
The outcome of the November 2008 election may provide the necessary support for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), aka the Card-check bill, to become federal law.
The EFCA would simplify and speed labor's ability to unionize companies. Under the bill, unions could become certified once a majority of employees have signed union authorization cards. Companies would no longer have the right to insist on one secret ballot. The bill also designates a time line for first contracts to be drawn up between unions and employees. Additionally, the bill would increase the fines employers must pay if found guilty of violating their employees' rights to unionize.
Introduced in 2003, the bill came to a vote last year and was passed by a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, but was blocked in the Senate and faced a veto threat by the White House. The bill's backers took it off the floor, but vowed to reintroduce it as soon as they garnered more support. The November election could provide that extra support - Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored the legislation and has said he would sign it into law if elected president. Senator John McCain opposes the EFCA and voted against it last year.
Employers argue that the card system could lead to workers being pressured to sign by pro-union colleagues and organizers. Unions counter that it shields workers from pressure from their employers.
Concern about the passage of the bill has some companies walking a fine line between advocating for a specific candidate to its hourly employees and disseminating information about candidates' voting records/positions on issues - federal election rules prohibit the former. According to an August 1 article in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart has held mandatory meetings for its store managers and department heads during which the retailer stressed the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized. A Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri reported that, "The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union.' I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote."
According to the Wall Street Journal article, other companies and groups such as Cintas Corp., the Employee Freedom Action Committee, and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace are also speaking against the legislation to workers.
In the wake of the November 2008 election, employers must be careful not to advocate for specific candidates to hourly employees (employers may advocate for specific political candidates to its executives, stockholders and salaried managers), however, providing employees with information about candidates' voting records and/or positions on issues is allowed. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.