Monday
Mar232009
Senate Republicans bash Employee Free Choice Act
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 4:57PM
The Senate Republican Conference held a hearing today strongly opposing the Employee Free Choice Act. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) opened by stating, “If properly labeled, the bill should be called the Employee No Choice Act, or even the Employee Forced Coercion act of 2009.” The main area of contention is the provision that Republicans say would allow for union creation without secret-ballot votes. Sen. Hatch explained, “It represents a sea-change in labor-management relations that has developed since the 1930s.... EFCA would effectively deny workers a secret ballot vote on the question of union representation, and there is no choice for workers to make in the matter.” He spoke of the economic devastation he fears would be an outcome of increased unionization: higher unemployment, outsourced jobs, and businesses which cannot compete.
Senator Bennet (R-Utah) reiterated the need to keep union votes secret, informed, and uncoerced. “When you have a secret ballot election, unions have won 68% of them, which means that by 2 to 1 circumstance, employees get what they want if they want a union.” He explained that this bill provides what union organizers want rather than what employees want.
Senator Risch (R-Idaho) expressed strong support for the current, longstanding legislation regarding employer-employee relations. “We have in place in America laws that have governed union organization and collective bargaining for many years. We have a fair system and we have a level playing field.... What we have in front of us is a bill that is unfair. It is a bill that unlevels the playing field, and it is a bill that overreaches. We don’t need this in America today.”
Testimony by lawyer Eugene Scalia raised the issue of the constitutionality of this legislation. Scalia explained that the Supreme Court recognizes a constitutional right to vote in certain circumstances, and lower courts have included in this a right to secret ballot. “I would argue that this act, given the enormous effects that it has on employee’s lives and given the state action involved through the government certification process presents concerns under the First and Fourteenth Amendment.”
Senator Bennet (R-Utah) reiterated the need to keep union votes secret, informed, and uncoerced. “When you have a secret ballot election, unions have won 68% of them, which means that by 2 to 1 circumstance, employees get what they want if they want a union.” He explained that this bill provides what union organizers want rather than what employees want.
Senator Risch (R-Idaho) expressed strong support for the current, longstanding legislation regarding employer-employee relations. “We have in place in America laws that have governed union organization and collective bargaining for many years. We have a fair system and we have a level playing field.... What we have in front of us is a bill that is unfair. It is a bill that unlevels the playing field, and it is a bill that overreaches. We don’t need this in America today.”
Testimony by lawyer Eugene Scalia raised the issue of the constitutionality of this legislation. Scalia explained that the Supreme Court recognizes a constitutional right to vote in certain circumstances, and lower courts have included in this a right to secret ballot. “I would argue that this act, given the enormous effects that it has on employee’s lives and given the state action involved through the government certification process presents concerns under the First and Fourteenth Amendment.”
Reader Comments (11)
Senator Hatch is contradicted by the Wall Street Journal, which admitted in an editorial last Friday that EFCA does not remove the secret ballot.
John Bryans Fontaine must be functionally illiterate or is intentionally misleading readers. The Wall Street Journal said that the bill doesn’t remove the secret-ballot option from the National Labor Relations Act but in practice makes it a dead letter.
A group called "EFCA Now" will probably post and say that EFCA lets the "workers" decide whether there will be a secret ballot or not. That is another misrepresentation. Whether or not there is a secret ballot will be decided by the paid union organizer.
Sadly, our government is misisng the boat with this proposal. Instead of providing the National Labor Relations Board with the financial support needed to ensure fair elections, new rules are being added which legislate to bad employers and add more hurdles for good employers. Hopefully, the public will recognize this legislation for what it really is - a smokescreen to advance labor's agenda.
THOSE SECRET BALLOT HATING REPUBLICANS!!!!!
GOP Says EFCA’s Secret Ballot Is Sacrosanct — But RNC Itself Forbids It! by Greg Sargent
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-national-committee/gop-says-efcas-secret-ballot-is-sacrosanct-but-rnc-itself-forbids-it/
What a scoop from John Bryans Fontaine. Isn't joining the RNC or the DNC a voluntary act?
The democrats are paying the unions back for basically spending 450 million dollars to put them in office. Look at all the union companies today that are having troubles today. Being union will add 30% to a companies cost which goes to the consumer or puts a company in the position where they cannot compete. Unions are only good for putting bussinesses out of business.
The unions have bought the democrats and this is payback. Unemployment will go higher than we see today as companies will have to adjust to the higher cost of operating.
John, you're absolutely right! It's those Greedy Union Bosses and their Greedier Unions at AIG and on Wall Street who've destroyed our country's economy.
Liberal Commie Losers - Eat It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There's no good reason why free men should be prevented by law from uniting as they see fit. Republicans want to preserve for employers the role of overlord. They are a disgrace.
Hilary, at no time has a "free man" ever been prevented from uniting. This law would take away the chioce of many free men from voting for their right not to be represented by a union. I have been through the union process and unions promise the world and take what ever they can get. Unions need members to survive. The dues that members pay goes to the cost of the unions it does not go to any of the benefits the unions promise. The company that the members work for pays for the benefits and retirement. Take a look at the Teamsters and educate yourself on how the Teamsters are a business. They are a business working for a profit and the only way they profit is from the union members dues.
Ask any union member and see if they had any say when it came to the union bosses giving the 450 million dollars to the democratic party to put them in office. Why would any for profit business throw away 450 millions dollars? They are paying for their agenda. It is GREED plain and simple and the American worker pays for it.
Unions will make this country non-competitive in the world market. Why do people think all of the textile and factory jobs left this country? The unions made the companies non-competitive and companies had to leave to stay in business. It is to costly to become union in this country and companies cannot compete.
I just wish people would educate themselves before they talk about things they know nothing about.
The Employee Free Choice Act Does NOT remove secret ballots:
EFCA and Secret Ballot Elections for Union Recognition
by Chris Lowe, BlueOregon
http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/08/efca-and-secret.html
Now, for elections held under Section 9(c), if a majority of workers vote for representation, a decertification election under Section 9(e) may not be held sooner than twelve months after the original election. But for new Section 9(c) petition-based certifications EFCA, no such time restriction would apply, because no 'valid election' would have been held. A 30% minority of workers could force a secret ballot decertification election as soon as they gathered their signatures.
Again: A 30% minority of workers could force a secret ballot decertification election as soon as they gathered their signatures.