Card Check and Labor Law
Message to Congress - Congress should oppose the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” – H.R. 1409/S. 560. Lawmakers must preserve the right of employees to a private ballot and the right of employers and workers to negotiate contracts freely without federal government intervention. Bills such as EFCA, FMLA expansion, the Paycheck Fairness Act and the RESPECT Act drive a wedge between employers and workers..
American Employees and Employers Deserve the Right to Choose and Negotiate Freely.
Many small and family-owned businesses work with their employees and the local community for unique local solutions to labor issues. With some potential changes to labor law, small businesses could be placed at a competitive disadvantage and lose their ability to work with employees in an effective and individualized manner.
In recent years, some union representatives have unfortunately adopted new organizing tactics that represent an end run around the prerogatives of workers. Unions' increasing use of card check arrangements denies workers the privacy and security of a secret-ballot election while discriminating against both employees and employers.
Legislation such as the Employee Free Choice Act, which would violate workers’ right to a private ballot as well as force arbitration on employees, the expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act, which hurts employers’ ability to offer competitive benefits, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which could open the door to frivolous lawsuits for employers, and the RESPECT Act, which changes the definition of a supervisor to make 8 million more workers union-eligible, weaken American competitiveness and drive a wedge between workers and employers at a time when all should work together to recover from the economic crisis.
Congress should support labor law reform that strengthens the rights of workers while protecting business owners’ ability to individualize benefits and wages for their employees.