Ask Larry Getts how much “free choice” there is in the Employee Free Choice Act. Chances are, he’ll say “not much.” Getts is an employee of the Dana Corporation in Fort Wayne, Ind. He has seen firsthand the pressure, badgering, and intimidation that come with the card check process for union organization, a major part of the act. In March, he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, E... Read more »
The American economy is sick and the best cure is jobs. The national unemployment rate is currently 9.4 percent. That’s a slight improvement from the previous mark of 9.5 percent, but that’s like saying a 102-degree fever has improved … to 101. The Employee Free Choice Act will not reduce that fever. If anything, it will only make it worse. Experts have studied the act and have concluded that its ... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today expressed new doubts about pending legislation to eliminate the private sector’s role in student lending, arguing that the bill’s massive new entitlement spending initiatives may cost taxpayers far more than expected. Kline’s comments come after the Obama Administration’s Office of Management and Budg... Read more »
The President of the United States, 50 governors, 535 members of the House and Senate, and high-school homecoming queens. What do all these people have in common? They were all elected by the secret ballot, a practice almost as old as democracy itself – and one that is threatened by the Employee Free Choice Act. The act promises to set aside that right for workers when forming a union, leaving the... Read more »
Michigan doesn’t have to wait for the Employee Free Choice Act to be passed. It already knows how bad some of the act’s effects will be. Back in the late 1960s, the Wolverine State passed Public Act 312, a law that featured forced government contract provisions similar to those proposed in EFCA. It requires binding arbitration if cities can’t reach agreements with local police and firefighter unio... Read more »
The card check is in the mail – and it’s just as good as voting for a union by secret ballot. If you believe that, there’s a bridge in Brooklyn, N.Y., you might be interested in purchasing. With public opposition to the anti-worker card check plan mounting, its supporters have concocted a series of alternative proposals. Unfortunately for workers, the alternatives are as bad as the original. One i... Read more »
Supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act must be a lonely bunch. Poll after poll shows their numbers are few as Americans have soundly rejected the act, and no wonder: It sets aside the secret ballot in favor of a public majority sign-up. It offers forced government contracts and could make America less competitive in the global economy – all during a lengthy recession. How strongly are people a... Read more »
Since it was first conceived, the so-called Employee Free Choice Act has received much attention about its ability to set aside a worker’s right to a secret ballot. Indeed, this very series was created, in part, to highlight why the secret ballot needs protection. But there are other dangers lurking in this legislation. Another part of EFCA equally troubling to workers, scholars, and activists is ... Read more »
If you want to see what America’s economic future would be like under the Employee Free Choice Act, look to the north. Canada has experimented with similar laws about the public sign-up card check process for forming unions, and that experience has not been good. Card check and the forced arbitration that goes with it have wreaked havoc on our northern neighbor’s economy. In fact, Canada’s card ch... Read more »
Ever hear the phrase, “making a bad situation worse”? That’s exactly what would happen to our economy – which, unfortunately, is in a “bad situation” at the moment – if some in Congress and their special interest allies get their way with enactment of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. A report issued in March found the act would destroy jobs and stifle productivity at a time when our economy... Read more »
