The Employee Free Choice Act has passed in the House of Representatives and now is pending in the Senate. Here from International Vice President and National Legislative Director Bob Davis is a report on the current campaign to win passage, including links to the AFL-CIO’s One Million Signatures campaign:
May 16, 2008—Nearly 60 million American workers have expressed an interest in becoming union members. If this is the case, why has union membership been declining? Employers are waging increasingly vicious campaigns against workers and union representatives who attempt to organize for better working conditions. The lag between gathering enough cards to file for an election and the election itself creates weeks in which professional “union busters” can infiltrate a workplace, intimidating, misleading, and harassing workers into voting against unionization. When facing an NLRB election over 90 percent of employers force employees to attend compulsory anti-union meetings.
New federal legislation can change that. The Employee Free Choice Act would make it possible to elect a union by simply collecting signed union cards from the majority of workers. EFCA will provide a democratic way to guarantee union representation without giving management the lead time necessary to coordinate an attack on workers’ rights.
The Employee Free Choice Act would improve the union election process by creating an environment free from fear, intimidation, and misinformation. It allows workers to choose their union quickly and by majority vote, so that they can have collective bargaining protections sooner. In addition to streamlining the election process, the EFCA provides harsher penalties for employers who commit unfair labor practices during elections and contract negotiations. The EFCA also guarantees faster and more satisfactory first contracts by providing mediation and arbitration for contracts not settled within 90 days.
Here are ten key facts about the Employee Free Choice Act.
The EFCA has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is pending in the U.S. Senate. Contact your senators today and ask him or her to support the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007.
Then join the campaign for fairness by clicking here to sign the One Million Worker Mobilization pledge online.
For background about the effort to win passage last year, click here.