When It Comes to Card-Check, Don't Believe the AFL-CIO
I strongly oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, aka the card-check bill. If passed, this bill will devastate our members, the hotel industry, and the entire U.S. economy. The unions have spent more than $250 million to elect Democratic members of Congress to ensure this legislation passes, and they will stop at nothing to gain more power in the upcoming years. With that said, let me provide you with a few thoughts and impressions on the the AFL-CIO's comments in the article AFL-CIO Says Employee Free Choice Act Not about Franchises and Small Business.
Business leaders such as Jack Welch, the legendary former Chairman and CEO of GE, has strongly opposed this bill, and talked about how it will ruin American businesses and undermine the economy at large. Warren Buffet is strongly opposed to the bill, based on the release of a new economic study showing that the card check scheme will eliminate 600,000 American jobs by 2010, and result in severe job losses in future years as the workforce becomes more unionized. The study, which was conducted by noted economist, Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar, concludes that every three percent (3%) increase in unionization will lead to a one percent (1%) increase in unemployment. (See this release.)
Union leader Stewart Acuff asserts that the secret ballot process takes too long. FYI, the average time for an election to be held is just 39 days, and 94 percent (94%) of elections are held within 56 days, according to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Mr. Acuff argues that workers are routinely fired and there are no effective penalties against employers who do this. Again, there is nothing to support his comments. Available NLRB statistics show that employees are illegally fired in just over one in 100 (1%) organizing drives. If the NLRB finds that an employer illegally fired workers during an organizing drive, it has the power to order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union, even if the union lost the election. (See the website for the Coalition For a Democratic Workplace (“CDW”) which discusses some of these facts vs. fiction.
The article suggests that the bill may pass again this time with the new Senate. It will need 60 votes to prevent a filibuster. If all of the Republican Senators hold firm and do not break ranks, the bill will not make it to the Senate floor for a vote. This means it will not pass. As an interesting side note, you may have read about the Blue Dog Democrats in the House. They do not want the House to vote on the bill until the Senate considers it. Indeed, if the Republican Senators filibuster and prevent the bill from ever coming to a vote, then there would be no need for the House to consider it. The word on the Hill is that the Blue Dog Democrats would welcome such a scenario because they would then not be forced to vote in favor of the bill, and would not be in danger of losing the necessary support of their business leaders and constituents who oppose the bill.
Mr. Acuff says that union efforts are focused on certain big corporations. However, he then admits that “I’m not saying that no small businesses will be organized under this legislation; undoubtedly there will be some, particularly where employees do it themselves.” At this point, based on the prior conduct of the unions and their attempts to gain increasing power, they will likely start with the big companies and then move to the smaller ones. Indeed, even the small hotels owned by AAHOA members are subject to unionization efforts, and there will be no way to stop such unionization if the bill is passed. The union organizers could show up at the door of a business on Friday afternoon, and if a majority of employees sign the cards, a union could be formed by Monday morning without the employer or the other employees even being aware of such a process. Further, the union must then be immediately recognized. The business owner will be required to negotiate with the union leaders, and if an agreement cannot be reached, a federal arbitrator will make the decisions about the wages and terms of employment for the employees. The federal arbitrator will be able to do this without an employee vote. These decisions will be binding for 2 years, even if it is bad for business and does not support the employees.
Finally, federal courts have repeatedly ruled that secret ballot elections are the preferred method of ascertaining whether a union has the support of a majority of employees. The U.S Supreme Court recognized that the “card-check” is “admittedly inferior to the election process” (NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., 395 U.S. 575 (1969)).
About the author: Attorney Laura Lee Blake is vice president of fair franchising & government affairs for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), an association of some 9,300 owners of 22,000 hotels.
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