Employee Free Choice Act as American as Apple Pie
Before you get lathered up and call me names, please read my view of the Employee Free Choice Act. Try to keep an open mind as you consider my arguments and conclusions.
First, the current recession has fallen hardest on workers who have lost their jobs with depression- like speed. These are the same workers who have dramatically increased their productivity and generated more wealth only to be rewarded with loss of jobs, falling wages, plummeting purchasing power, elimination of health-care benefits and cancellation of pensions. Meanwhile, corporate downsizing and offshoring are rampant, part-time work is the new norm and job-safety rules are being sacrificed as the recession deepens.
Second, opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act claim that it takes privacy, power and voice away from America’s working people by robbing them of their right to a private ballot in federally supervised elections when deciding whether or not to join a labor union. The truth is that there are two methods for organizing under EFCA rules:
- Majority sign-up: Under this method, workers sign valid forms indicating their preference for a union. EFCA would change existing law so that an employer must recognize its employees’ union when a majority of its workers has authorized union representation using majority sign-up.
- Secret ballot elections: Under the Employee Free Choice Act, workers are still free to organize using “secret ballot” elections.
Third, both majority sign-up and secret ballot elections have been in existence since 1935 but, under current law, employers can disregard the results of majority sign-up and force employees to use secret ballot elections. In fact, a company’s management can refuse to recognize a union even when 100% of its employers have signed authorization cards indicating that they want a union.
A 2006 poll of the general public by the Pew Research Center found that 68% of Americans believe that labor unions are necessary to protect working families. In that same year, a survey or workers by pollster Peter Hart indicated that as many as 60 million Americans would join a union tomorrow- if they could.
Fourth, in summary, here’s what the Employee Free Choice Act does:
- It gives workers a choice between secret ballots and majority sign-up. Once a majority of workers make it clear that they want a union, they should get a union; employers should not be allowed to negate the process.
- It strengthens penalties against employers who break the law. Too many unscrupulous employers get away with breaking labor laws because current penalties are too weak. EFCA would increase penalties against employers who illegally fire or retaliate against pro-union workers during an organizing campaign.
- It allows employers or employees to request mediation if they’re unable to negotiate a first contract.
Fifth, what the Employee Free Choice Act does not do:
- It makes no change to the current union election process. It amends the law about majority sign-up to put the choice of how to form a union in workers’ hands not their employers.
- It does not create a “new approach” to forming unions. Majority sign-up has existed since 1935 and major corporations like AT&T recognize majority sign-up as a completely legitimate way to determine the will of its workforce.
- It does not make workers more susceptible to coercion. Workers in secret ballot elections are twice as likely (46% vs. 23%) as those in majority sign-up campaigns to report that management coerced them to oppose a union. But only 4.6% of workers who signed a card with a union organizer- fewer than one in 20- reported that the presence of a union organizer made them feel pressured to sign the card.
Finally, across the country, there is broad support for EFCA. A Peter Hart poll released in January 2009 shows that 73% of the public supports it including nearly half of Republicans. This will be a major test for President Obama who pledged unequivocally last year that he would get EFCA passed.
The Employees Free Choice Act sounds fair because it is. But corporations that want to keep their employees from a better standard of living are determined to kill it. For instance, Crain’s Chicago Business reported on December 8, that McDonald’s Corporation is busy mobilizing its 2,400 franchisees to oppose the legislation. And that’s just McDonald’s.
Why is the freedom to organize into unions such a high-stakes battle? Because for millions of Americans who work hard and live from paycheck to paycheck, the union is the path to the middle class. Full-time workers in unions bring home 30 percent higher wager than similar workers without a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That doesn’t even count the huge advantages that union workers have in their health insurance coverage and pensions. These same union members stay in hotels, eat in restaurants and travel on airlines for their vacations.
Many employers will fight tooth and nail to keep their employees from having that kind of bargaining power. Kate Bronfenbrenner of Cornell University found that 90 percent of private-sector employers fight their workers’ efforts to form a union, and a quarter even illegally fire union supporters.
On Election Day, America’s working families voted for good jobs, health care for all, and the chance for working people to keep a fair share of the wealth they help create. They also voted overwhelmingly for candidates for the White House and Congress who endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act.
About the author: Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC operates his hotel consulting office as a sole practitioner specializing in franchising issues, asset management and litigation support services. Turkel’s clients are hotel owners and franchisees, investors and lending institutions. Turkel serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants. His provocative articles on various hotel subjects have been published in Blue MauMau, the Cornell Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel Interactive, Hotel-Online, AAHOA Lodging Business, etc. Don’t hesitate to call 917-628-8549 or email stanturkel@aol.com
Related Reading:
- Did Specter's political problems doom card check? in Salon.com
- Whoever runs in Minnesota stays in Minnesota? in Reuters Blogs
- AFL-CIO Says Employee Free Choice Act Not about Franchises and Small Business
- Majority Receptive to Law Making Union Organizing Easier
- When It Comes to Card-Check, Don't Believe the AFL-CIO by Laura Lee Blake of AAHOA
- Franchising and the Real Threat of Employee Free Choice Act by David French of the IFA
- Franchisees Unconcerned about Unionization? by Paul Steinberg
Stanley Turkel is a Virginia-based hotel consultant specializing in hotel-related expert witness cases and asset management. He was designated as the 2014 and 2015 Historian of the Year by Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To order his books go to www.stanleyturkel.com and click on “books”:
-“Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi”
-“Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt, Oscar of the Waldorf”
-“Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year Old Hotels West of the Mississippi”
-“Hotel Mavens Volume 2: Henry Morrison Flagler, Henry Bradley Plant, Carl Graham Fisher"
Comments
Small Biz Lobbyists Against Card Check
"The IFA was in there right away trying to stop the passage of this Bill" - Carol
It isn't just the IFA trying to stop the bill. It is virtually every franchisee and small business association that lobbies Washington.
Does anyone know of a single small biz lobbyist that is for the card check bill?
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Unions and Business Owners Don't Mix
Unions are anathema to business owners. Owners yield to the concept of unions like oil does water.
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Manipulation
That is at the very heart of this; namely, is the EFCA a strawman where big business rallies the massive votes of small business?
That is to say, is the money and influence of big business manipulating the entrepreneur's natural disdain for unions to vote on an issue that doesn't really affect small businesses?
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Unions
Stan;
I am fan of the union concept because it allows an employer to put people essentially on leave during a downturn and then recall them, instead hiring and firing.
However, I am not in favour of the check card solution to the problems of getting a union recognized. I am in favour of much shorter periods to hold the secret election, 30 days is way too long. Ontario does it in 5 days, why cannot the US achieve this?
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
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Re: Employee Free Choice Act as American as Apple Pie
Stan does not present EFCA accurately or completely. Let's go through some of his assertions:
He is right that EFCA does not do away with elections, but why would anyone want to bother with the trouble of winning an election if they can achieve the same thing much easier via "card check"?
If "card check" is so much better why doesn't EFCA allow that process to be used to decertify a union? Under EFCA it would still require a secret ballot to remove a union.
Under EFCA the penalties for unfair labor practice are increased only for an employer. No increase if a union commits an unfair labor practice.
Stan correctly mentions mediation if the parties can't come to an agreement, but he fails to mention that if mediation does not work out than it goes to arbitration where a contract will be determined for the parties. How could someone be forced to sign a contract? Contracts are to be entered into voluntarily.
Good unions don't need EFCA; bad unions don't deserve it.
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Apple Pie
Guest writes: "Stan correctly mentions mediation if the parties can't come to an agreement, but he fails to mention that if mediation does not work out than it goes to arbitration where a contract will be determined for the parties. How could someone be forced to sign a contract? Contracts are to be entered into voluntarily."
Uh, this is a good faith provision. If the majority of the employees want a union, but the employer stalls in negotiating, the EFCA will allow an arbitrator to decide the terms of the first contract. Nothing wrong with this, most civilized countries have this provision. Tends to increase the net worth of the middle class by increasing their bargaining power.
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
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Re: Re: Employee Free Choice Act as American as Apple Pie
You got this 100% correct!
From first hand experience I will tell you that the unions rarely file a petition with less than 60% or more signed cards. That in itself is the elimination of the vote. They will not disclose how many or who have signed cards as they claim they are confidential. Even if they say they would stop the signing in time to allow a vote - that wont happen - it costs money for them to have a campaign they could lose. That is common sense.
I fully agree that if we get EFCA-cardcheck the decert should be done the same way. So why do you think it is not part of the bill? The answer is simple - my buds at UPS would get out of the union without blinking an eye. Cannot have that now, can we?
Did you also notice that the fines imposed in EFCA do not cover the UNION?
Are you aware that the NLRB is not charged to be fair to both union and non-union concerns? They are specifically mandated to "encourage collective bargaining". That alone makes them unqualified to hear any cases and it mandates their bias!
"National Labor Relations Act
Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy."
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Franchise Impact
I would like to know how small franchisees are going to handle the union issue with limited legal and administrative resources? Is the small operator going to be overwhelmed with new additional and burdensome reporting requirements not only from the U.S. but local governments? How will we negotiate the union contract if we have never dealt with one? What will we do when our payroll cost double when we are forced to increase wages, add benefits and spend more time on administrative work? I know the quick answer will be to increase prices and to cut owners salary and benefits. But how long will some franchisees continue in business when employees are making more money and have better benefits than they do? If Stan is correct, that this recession has affected employees, does he not think that owners have suffered as well?
I always wondered what would happen if everyone who worked for McDonald's got payed what they wanted, received the benefits they needed and became complacent about their future career options and never considered moving on in life? Do you suppose this is another way to create a class of workers who have low expectations and don't understand the idea of self-improvement when it comes to their careers? If every job keeps everyone so happy they don't want to move on, will we continue to see the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that drives the average worker to seek better opportunities for their families and themselves? I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the fact we hate our jobs, we don't get paid enough or don't receive the benefits we want is a very good motivator to get off our asses and get on to something better.
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Human excretia
Herr Galbraith vunce again,
Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable must surely have beneficial economic effects.
The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
Les Stewart MBA
FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise.org
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Human excretia
Herr Galbraith vunce again,
Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable must surely have beneficial economic effects.
The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
Les Stewart MBA
FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise.org
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Seriously?
How many jobs have labor unions created?
As a franchise restaurant owner with a single store, the threat of a labor union is a daunting one. Significantly increasing expenses for labor costs, costs of benefits, or other "intangible costs" without a significant increase in prices (something none of us are wont to do at this point) would drive my operation out of business.
The inability to operate efficiently due to poor performing workers also creates problems. The difficulties posed when a manager or owner is unable to step in and perform tasks normally performed by a union worker without extra costs and hassles would be extremely costly and inefficient.
The fact that the people who have the most to lose and gain lose a significant amount of control over their own operation and dream due to being required to submit to binding arbitration for the initial contract is anti-american.
This is a bad idea for America. A very bad idea.
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What created and maintains a middle class?
N. Watson,
I do not know exactly but I tend to think these people know what they were talking about.
Okay then...
All that harms labor is treason to America. Abraham Lincoln
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice. Dwight D. Eisenhower
In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Poorly paid labor is inefficient labor, the world over. Henry George
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. John F. Kennedy
Les Stewart MBA
FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise.org
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What created and maintains a middle class?
N. Watson,
I do not know exactly but I tend to think these people know what they were talking about.
Okay then...
All that harms labor is treason to America. Abraham Lincoln
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice. Dwight D. Eisenhower
In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Poorly paid labor is inefficient labor, the world over. Henry George
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. John F. Kennedy
Les Stewart MBA
FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise.org
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Other famous quotes
Yabba dabba doo. --Fred Flintstone
Arbeit macht frei. --Adolf Hitler
If you have nothing to say, quote someone else. -- Les Stewart
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Discussion of Topic at Reason
Here is an interesting thread, over at Reason, about Card Check.
I note that people in favour of the secret ballot still don't address the main union issue: the length of time it takes to have a secret ballot in the US.
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
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What on earth has time to do it got to do with the right and
wrong of the policy? Why do others have a right to know what workers' preferences are on an individual basis? The obvious intimidation opportnities inherent in removing secret ballots makes arguments like the time it may take seem less than serious - to put it nicely - which I don't often do.
Working people are put upon at every opportunity - yes, even in touchy feely Canada - and have to defend their turf against employer opportunism. When they lacked the means to do that, life for working people was terrible. While they may now be opportunistic themselves, they should not have to accept intimidation as the price of their self defense.
Isn't the scenario of franchising's abuses sufficient to tell you than abuse can be expected whenever it is an option?
I'm with Les on this one.
--
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
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Time
Uh, Richard in Ontario secret ballots for unions are held within 5 days of the prospective uinon asking for it. In the US, the election can take over 60 or 70 days, allowing the employer to retaliate.
A quick vote prevents employer from engaging in abusive tactics.
I am in favour of very quick elections, but not in favour of dispensing with the secret ballot.
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
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Turkel ----Truth Rings Clear ---EFCA
Thanks to Stan Turkel for this very professional overview of what EFCA would do and not do in this economy. Stan Turkel is a man of principles and courage who reminds us that President Obama was elected because the American people want The Congress to bring change that will mean fairer treatment of The American Middle Class.
Will The Congress again reject the voice of rhe American people who want CHANGE and do not want their lives ruled by the special interests whbo control the Congress, and who want to frighten the Congress into pulling back on their promise, before the election, to support the EFCA?
I greatly admire Senator Spector whom, I believe, is a good human being but who is a politician who does want to survive within his party for the rest of his life. He is voting for himself and his party and not for the American people, in my opinion. But, of course, it has been the Republican party who has supported all of the IFA initiatives to maintain the capture of the regulation of franchising.
The IFA was in there right away trying to stop the passage of this Bill because, of course, it might ultimately impact franchisors adversely if Multiple Unit Franchisees would have to provide health care insurance for their employees in any new scheme for National Health Care. In any new scheme, it might mean that Franchisors would not be able to continue to escape the financial costs of providing healthcare to the hundreds of thousands of employees who work for franchisees and receive NO benefits whatsoever but who provide the profits (the jets and perks and huge salaries at the top of the pyramid of franchising) for the franchisors ---and this is what has frightened the IFA and why they have been so pro-active in working against this Bill.
Thanks, Stan Turkel, for coming on record and for your insight and courage. I like Apple Pie!
Carol Cross