Card Check
AH&LA members can download for free this educational video about your employees' rights under a union authorization card campaign. This 11-minute video can be downloaded and shown to your employees, educating them about the card check process and how it can affect their workplace. A Spanish-language version of Stand Up is also available for downloading.
This eight-minute Think Again video is perfect to use to educate your managerial staff about the threat that the "Employee Free Choice Act" (EFCA) presents to a hotel workplace.
Contribute your support to AH&LA's campaign against card check. Click on the link above to donate online via our secure Website.
EFCA Explained |
Watch a short video explaining
EFCA and card check
by AH&LA executive vice president
Marlene Colucci |
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) takes privacy, power and voice away from America’s workers.
It’s that simple.This legislation would take away a worker’s right to a federally supervised private ballot election when deciding whether or not to join a union. EFCA would replace the private ballot with a biased and inferior process called “card check” which allows a union to organize if a majority of workers simply sign a card. Under this system, the workers’ votes are made public to the employer, the union organizers, and co-workers.
EFCA also contains an unprecedented requirement imposing contract terms on private, unionized employers through a process of mandatory binding arbitration if both parties cannot come to an agreement within 120 days. The arbitration requirement not only disrupts the careful balance established by our nation’s labor laws, but also denies workers the ability to vote on their contract and creates disincentives for parties to compromise.
If enacted, a significant number of industry employers could see large segments of their workforce subject to unionization campaigns that are being waged on a severely tilted playing field. They will experience rapid unionization despite the company’s labor environment or a state’s right-to-work laws. Small businesses will see rapid union penetration into their workforce.
One of the key elements of federal labor law is the right of workers to participate in a private ballot election - the same method used to elect Members of Congress, other public officials and even union leadership - to decide their workplace representation and the conditions of their employment. Workers also have the right to review and vote in private ballot elections on negotiated labor contract that would determine the condition of their employment.
According to a poll conducted in January 2009 by McLaughlin & Associates of union and non-union households:
- 82% of Americans believe having a federally supervised private ballot election is the best way to protect the individual rights to workers and that a worker’s vote on unionization should remain private 85% of union households agree with that statement.
- 86% of Obama supporters believe that a worker’s vote should be kept private in an union organizing election. 61% of Obama supporters would be less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who voted to take away the secret ballot from workers.
- 74% of Americans and union members oppose the “Employee Free Choice Act". 86% of Americans said a worker’s vote to join a union should remain private rather than public as the card check system would impose.
Card check will hit small businesses hard through increased union targeting. The National Labor Relations Board found that in fiscal year 2005, more than 20 percent of the 2,649 representation elections it conducted involved bargaining units of fewer than 10 workers, while 70 percent of these elections involved bargaining units of fewer than 50 workers. This union activity towards small businesses will increase under card check. In addition, small businesses do not have expensive labor attorneys on staff to identify or defend against labor law violations if their employees come under assault.
No one, employers and union organizers alike, should fear an election conducted by private ballot. It is the only manner in which to protect an individual’s freedom to choose without subtle or overt coercion. The only way to guarantee worker protection is through the continued use of a federally supervised private ballot so that personal decisions about whether to join a union remain private. Private ballots protect free choice.
At a time when our nation spends tremendous resources to foster and support free elections around the world, it makes no sense to roll back the clock on our own workplace elections by abolishing federally protected private ballots. EFCA is fundamentally incompatible with protecting the interests of individual liberty and the principles of a sound democracy. If Congress passes this proposal, they will be stripping away federally protected private ballots from the hands of American workers.
EFCA is a job-killer
In today’s weakened economy, this legislation will not help American workers or their employers. Industry estimates are that this legislation alone would cost hospitality businesses between 3 to 5 percent of their revenue, a sizeable amount when a business depends on a slim operating margin to stay profitable and to stay open for business.
A 2009 economic study by University of Chicago Professor Richard Epstein states “the passage of EFCA will create huge dislocations in established ways of doing business that will in turn lead to large losses in productivity.” Epstein’s study also finds that EFCA retards the formation of small businesses, while large companies face heavy costs as they attempt to meet simultaneous multiple threats of unionization.
Another 2009 study by economist Dr. Layne-Farrar conclusively found that the unionization of 1.5 million existing jobs under EFCA in the first year after enactment would lead to the loss of 600,000 jobs by the following year, if organized labor is accurate in their predictions about how many existing jobs (1.5 million) will be unionized under EFCA.
In the 110th Congress, S. 1041 was introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, (D-MA), and was identical to H.R. 800. H.R. 800, introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), passed the House by a vote of 241-185 on March 1, 2007, after it was rushed through the legislative process. Although it was approved by the House, it fell short of the number of votes supporters had anticipated due to growing opposition across the country. It is believed that many members of the House voted in support of this bill knowing that President Bush stated he would veto any card check legislation that came to his desk.
When H.R. 800 was sent to the Senate for a vote, it prompted a filibuster and was blocked from final consideration on the Senate floor by a 51-48 vote on June 26, 2007. Although the bill was defeated in the Senate, supporters were working to reintroduce the bill if an opportunity arose to do so, which fortunately never transpired before adjournment. Additionally, the Democrat candidate for president, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), stated during his election campaign that he would sign card check legislation into law if passed by Congress.
Both the House and Senate bills were defeated in the 110th Congress (2007-08). However, organized labor supporters vowed to introduce the legislation again in the new Congress. On March 10, 2009, they made good on their threat when the Employee Free Choice Act was reintroduced in both houses of Congress.
The House bill, H.R. 1409, is sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and has 227 co-sponsors. The Senate bill, S. 560, has 40 cosponsors. Both bills are identical to the versions voted on in 2007 by Congress. In 2007, EFCA boasted 233 cosponsors in the House and 46 in the Senate. In the House, 32 Members who cosponsored the legislation in 2007 have opted not to sign their names to the bill this year, and in the Senate, 11 have withheld their names.
According to press reports published earlier this year, the Senate wanted to vote on EFCA sometime in summer 2009. The House stated in early spring 2009 that it may then vote on it if the Senate brings it up for a vote. House Blue Dog Democrats, conservative members whose districts are generally in right-to-work states, told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early 2009 that they would only vote on the bill if the Senate first voted on it, fearing a voter backlash if they voted on the bill and the Senate followed by defeating it.
Senate leadership will only bring the bill up for a vote if they believe they have the votes. With the final results of the long-disputed Minnesota Senate race now decided in pro-EFCA Sen. Al Franken's favor, the bill's supporters now are one more vote closer. Every vote will count in this debate, which is why each Senator needs to hear from their constituents about this bill.
However, since the bill has been stalled since its introduction in March, numerous compromises have been floated by EFCA's supporters. However, these compromises are really no compromise at all—a “mail-in” voting proposal offered still does not protect an employee’s secret ballot from intimidation and manipulation, and the binding arbitration changes proposed still give government bureaucrats the final approval on an employee’s contract.
Both proposals are unacceptable and will be fought by AH&LA just as vigorously as the original EFCA. AH&LA is keeping our massive grassroots operation fully informed as to what the various "compromises" entail, as our July 20, 2009 Advisory explains.
AH&LA is open to examining alternatives to EFCA, but only if the entire bill is first withdrawn from consideration.
As of early fall 2009, the bill has thankfully stalled. Majority Leader Harry Reid told a crowd at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on August 26 that the “Senate has too many priorities on its agenda to handle ‘card check’ legislation anytime soon.” However, while labor leaders have acknowledged that card check will have to wait until after the healthcare debate is completed, they have not relented. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka in September said he “had pledged to keep lawmakers accountable to pass the ‘card check’ bill.”
In 2008, AH&LA and the business community were successful in keeping the legislation from being passed. The fight will continue this Congress. Anti-card check coalitions such as AH&LA's Coalition for a Democratic Workplace have already begun the fight through advertising and grassroots outreach. House members supportive of a worker's right to a secret private ballot introduced on Feb. 25, 2009 alternative legislation (H.R. 1176) guaranteeing this basic political right.
AH&LA continues to oppose card check legislation in the strongest possible terms, and urges Congress to reject this brazen assault on workers. Every member of Congress holds their office by virtue of being elected by their constituents through private ballot elections. In addition, members of Congress themselves voted in private ballot elections to determine their leadership in Congress. It would be unconscionable for Congress to eliminate the right of their constituents to vote in private ballot elections in their workplaces when those members enjoy that right in their workplace - the halls of Congress.
Card check supporters reintroduced EFCA in the new Congress on March 10, 2009. By AH&LA's estimation, the new Senate contains at least 59 potential card check supporters. This will make for a difficult legislative environment, but AH&LA and its coalition members are ready for the battle ahead. Advertising in Capitol Hill newspapers and on national television is taking place throughtout the year, with more grassroots action planned once a timeframe for a Senate vote becomes more apparent. AH&LA is strongly encouraging industry members to get involved; if EFCA passes, it will add more costs to doing business in a tough economic environment.
We urge AH&LA members to contact their Members of Congress while they are home in their districts and let them know that card check is an unacceptable bill. This legislation poses not only an assault on an individual's right to privacy, but a direct threat to economic growth and job creation. Particularly at a time of economic uncertainty, Congress should not enact measures that threaten our nation's economic competitiveness. This legislation would have a particularly devastating impact on small businesses who are the primary source for new jobs in our economy.
AH&LA's President/CEO Joe McInerney forcefully responded in early April 2009 to an pro-EFCA editorial appearing in Hotel Interactive, an important industry trade journal. AH&LA is urging its members to do the same in their local newspapers and write letters to their area media describing why this bill is such a bad idea for their business and the American lodging industry.
Are you looking for more information about this important industry issue? Here are some online resources that can help you and your employees learn more about this threat. It's also a good place to find facts and information you can use in letters to your lawmakers and local media.
Get the facts quickly about card check by downloading and distributing this one-page AH&LA fact sheet on card check. (PDF)
Get the facts you need about card check's mandatory binding interest arbitration section from this one-page AH&LA fact sheet. (PDF)
MyPrivateBallot.com Website
AH&LA co-chairs an grassroots effort to defeat this legislation entitled the Coalition For A Democratic Workplace (CDW). The Website contains fact sheets, current video clips of television commercials, news articles, sample letters, and much information that you can use to educate yourself and your workforce on this serious threat to America's workforce. Additional information about the coalition's work and current educational campaigns is available on their Website at www.myprivateballot.com. Make this Webpage your first stop in your card check education.
www.uschamber.com/unionrhetoric Website
This U.S. Chamber of Commerce Website helps give you the intellectual ammunition needed to combat the false picture painted by organized labor about today's modern workforce. Updated regulary, you will find much information you can use to rebut union claims about business/labor relations, download fact sheets detailing what is really at stake in this legislative fight, discover the real economic effects of union membership, and much, much more! You can access www.uschamber.com/unionrhetoric from this link.
Learn the facts about union membership. Be informed about what union membership really means for your employee's paycheck and your workplace conditions.
TheTruthAboutEFCA.com Website
This EFCA Webpage by the Associated Builders & Contractors has current news about the bill's progress in Congress, as well as links to studies about EFCA's damaging effect on the U.S. economy.
This five-page August 2008 briefing document from the Heritage Foundation explains how EFCA really is no choice at all for America's workforce.
EFCAExposed.com Website
This Webpage by the Labor Relations Institute also contains information about what a business can do before it faces a card check campaign.
MYTH - “The Employee Free Choice Act gives employees the option of using a ‘card check’ system. It does not replace the private ballot election. Employees are still free to choose a private ballot process.”
FACT - False. The card check process under EFCA does not give employees a choice for a private election. Instead, EFCA gives union organizers the decision of whether to organize through a card check process. EFCA clearly states in its legislative text, (H.R. 1409, Sec. 2(a)):
“If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a).”
It is unequivocal--this legislation clearly and simply states: “the Board shall not direct an election.” Once the labor organization is certified, only the union organizer can call for an election, which they have no incentive to do. In addition, the card check process can remove almost half of all employees from the organizing process because the union only needs signatures from a simple majority in order to gain collective bargaining rights. During the "card check" process, those employees who do not want a union do not have a voice and are in effect removed from the process of making decisions about their own jobs.
Rhetoric from EFCA’s supporters claiming employees can still chose an election ignore the reality of union organizing campaigns. Professionally trained and compensated union organizers collect and control the signed authorization cards. There is no incentive for these organizers to inform workers of the ability to organize via the secret ballot, or give a practical method for employees to force the organizers to request an election. The reality is that once a majority has signed the cards, there will be no private ballot election.
MYTH - Private ballot elections take too long and delays of months or years are common.
FACT - The average time for an election to be held is just 39 days; 94 percent of elections are held within 56 days.
MYTH -"Card check" procedures are the most effective way to determine the wishes of a majority of employees.
FACT - Federal courts have repeatedly ruled that private ballot elections are the most foolproof method of ascertaining whether a union has the support of a majority of employees, noting that workers sometimes sign cards not because they intend to vote for the union in an election, but to avoid offending the person who asks them to sign (often a fellow worker), or simply to get the person off their back.
MYTH - Employers illegally fire employees in 25 to 30 percent of all organizing drives.
FACT - Those who falsely claim employers illegally fire a large number of employees during organizing drives cite two studies, one by Cornell professor Kate Bronfenbrenner and another commissioned by the pro-union group American Rights at Work. Unfortunately, these reports are in fact surveys of uncorroborated reports of union organizers - hardly an unbiased source. National Labor Relations Board statistics show employees are illegally fired in just over one in 100 (1 percent) organizing drives. Furthermore, 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.
MYTH - The threat of implementing the mandatory arbitration provision of card check legislation would result in compromise between employers and the union.
FACT - The Employee Free Choice Act contains an unprecedented requirement that would mandate the federal government impose contract terms on private employers through a process of mandatory, binding interest arbitration. The arbitration requirement not only disrupts the careful balance established by our nation’s labor laws, but also denies workers the ability to vote on their contract, creates disincentives to compromise, and is likely unconstitutional. Mandatory, binding arbitration removes union employees from this process and would let the arbitrator impose a binding contract without an employee vote. The incentive to reach agreement decreases if the parties have reason to believe an arbitrator might be prevailed upon to select one proposal over another. And when it passed the NLRA, Congress explicitly rejected binding arbitration as incompatible with the concept of collective bargaining, stating that “the essence of collective bargaining is that either party will be free to decide whether proposals made to it are satisfactory.”
For more information, contact AH&LA Executive Vice President for Public Policy Marlene Colucci at (202) 289-3121, mcolucci@ahla.com, or AH&LA Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Shawn McBurney at (202) 289-3123, smcburney@ahla.com.
(Updated November 2009)
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