Employee Free Choice Act

[tolex42]

This very important piece of legislation is coming up before the Senate in a few days.

The Employee Free Choice Act [EFCA] would promote workers fundamental right to choose a Union free from employer coercion and intimidation, restore workers freedom to join a Union, safeguard workers ability to make their own decision, provide for timely first contract mediation and arbitration and establish meaningful penalties for employers who violate these fundamental workers rights. EFCA's intent is to prevent employers aggression against workers who may want to join unions. This aggression includes: illegally firing workers for union interest and activity during organizing campaigns; refusing to fairly bargained with unions of newly organized workers by delaying negotiations; forcing employees to attend antiunion meetings; and, threatening employees with poor performance of evaluations, discipline and firings.

If the Employee Free Choice Act is enacted it would go a long way to help our brothers working for nonunion contractors and nonunion utility companies to organize their own Union. If every lineman in the United States was in a Union imagine the power we would have at the bargaining table to improve our wages, working conditions and benefits.

"A rising tide lifts all boats."

Call your Senator today and ask him to support the Employee Free Choice. Act.

[Unclearrow]

Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CHICAGO HAND.]

Bill streamlines public sector union sign-ups
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Oregonian
State lawmakers on Monday approved a bill that would make it easier for workers in public sectors -- already a labor stronghold -- to join a union.

House Bill 2891 would allow public workers in Oregon to organize if more than 50 percent of a workplace signs authorization cards. Known as card check or majority sign-up, the bill was pushed by the Oregon AFL-CIO. Currently, most unions organize through a government-supervised election process.

Congress this week is debating a similar measure for U.S. private sector workers.

The Oregon bill now goes to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a former union lawyer, who plans to sign it, a spokesman said. The House passed the measure earlier this session.

-- Brent Hunsberger

[damn_encode]

Don’t you have these rights already when you sign the signatory cards? Is it not already illegal to do these things? I think it states all these things and more in that little blue booklet put out by the IBEW.

[tolex42]

Don’t you have these rights already when you sign the signatory cards? Is it not already illegal to do these things? I think it states all these things and more in that little blue booklet put out by the IBEW.

The National Labor Relations Act states: “Employees shall have to the right to self organization to form, join, or assist labor organizations....” It was designed to protect employee choice on whether to form unions, but it has been turned upside down.

The current system is not like any democratic election held anywhere else in our society. Employers have turned the NLRB election process into management-controlled election process—the employer has all the power, controls the information workers can receive and routinely poisons the process by intimidating, harassing, coercing and even firing people who try to organize unions. On top of that, the law’s penalties are so insignificant that many companies treat them as just another cost of doing business. By the time employees vote in an NLRB election, if they can get to that point, a free and fair choice isn’t an option. Even in the voting location, workers do not have a free choice after being browbeaten by supervisors.

[tolex42]

It was close, but not quite enough.

The United States Senate voted 51-49 to invoke a procedure known as cloture which would have cut off debate on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Under Senate rules, cloture needs 60 votes in order to be passed and move the chamber on to consideration of the bill itself.

All Democrats voted for the motion. They were joined by two independents, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of Vermont and one Republican, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. All other Republicans voted against the motion, and thus in favor of killing the bill.

The result probably means that the legislation will not be considered again by the Senate at least during this year.

The U.S House of Representatives passed its version of the employee Free Choice Act in March of this year.

[duckhunter]

Why blame just Republicans, the majority now belongs to the Democrats. Must be a few of them voted against this.

[tolex42]

Why blame just Republicans, the majority now belongs to the Democrats. Must be a few of them voted against this.

Read my post again. "All Democrats voted for the motion. They were joined by the chamber's two independents and one Republicans". "All other Republicans voted against the motion, and thus in favor of killing the bill".

So you see duckhunter, the Democrats do not have the majority when it requires 60 votes. There are only 100 senators.

No matter how you look at it, the Republicans screwed us.

[wudwoker51]

Just getting this bill as far as we did was a victory. In 2008 when we send another bunch of these anti-worker scumbag republican'ts packing we will get it passed, and that my fellow Americans will be a tremendous victory for all of us who work for a living, especially those who want to become organized.

[KingRat]

Thats a waste of time-you already have a free choice act,work for anybody you want-Union or non. What am I missing?

[tolex42]

Thats a waste of time-you already have a free choice act,work for anybody you want-Union or non. What am I missing?

Common sense!

[KingRat]

Cmon Tolex- are you serious

[Orgnizdlbr]

Thats a waste of time-you already have a free choice act,work for anybody you want-Union or non. What am I missing?

This has to be a trick question, right?

[tolex42]

RIGGED ELECTIONS IN THE WORKPLACE

New report uncovers how employers exploit weakness in U.S. labor law during union recognition elections

WASHINGTON, DC - American Rights at Work today releases "Neither Free Nor Fair: The Subversion of Democracy Under National Labor Relations Board Elections." The report by University of Oregon political scientist Gordon Lafer, Ph.D., lays bare the realities of how unscrupulous employers undermine workers' rights to freedom of association during government-administered union representation elections. "Anti-union employers are making a mockery of the principles governing American elections," says Lafer. "Weak labor laws allow anti-union employers to manipulate the outcome of union elections in a manner that is inherently unfair and undemocratic."

"Neither Free Nor Fair" details the strategies - both legal and illegal - that typically comprise employers' efforts to deny their workers' rights to form unions and collectively bargain. Says Lafer, "Unionbusting activity in the weeks leading up to the union election resembles practices that our government routinely denounces when performed by rogue regimes abroad." Workers routinely face:

Denial of free speech: Management consultants typically advise employers to maximize legally-permitted one-sided advantages, such as plastering the workplace with anti-union material. Pro-union employees are prohibited from doing likewise, and union organizers are banned from entering the workplace.

Economic coercion and intimidation: It is common practice in anti-union campaigns for supervisors, who have the most immediate control over hiring and firing, to communicate to workers that their jobs may be at risk if they form a union.

Ostracism and defamation of union supporters: Security guards with walkie-talkies followed one worker featured in the report to restaurants on her days off. A member of management was assigned to work with her eight hours a day, five days a week, solely to change her ideas about unions.

Intrusion into workers' decisions on how to vote: "Union avoidance" consultants typically train supervisors to have repeated, intimidating one-on-one conversations with their employees to make them reveal their feelings about the union long before election day.
"Under the current system, employers easily exploit the law's weaknesses and get away with it," says American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell. "When workers attempt to exercise their democratic rights, they deserve protection."

American Rights at Work endorses the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that gained incredible momentum in both the House and Senate in the 110th Congress, as a fix for the broken system. In March, a majority in the House passed the bill (H.R. 800). Two weeks ago, industry-backed conservative policymakers in the Senate stopped the bill from moving forward-although the procedural vote indicated strong support.

"The dialogue continues," says Maxwell, "And Dr. Lafer's work will inform the discourse." This study follows Lafer's 2005 report, "Free and Fair: How Labor Law Fails U.S. Democratic Election Standards." The groundbreaking study measured the union representation election process against democratic election standards established by the political philosophy and published works of the Founding Fathers, the historical development of electoral law and jurisprudence, and current statutes and regulations that define "free and fair" elections. Both reports are part of a series commissioned by American Rights at Work to examine deficiencies of existing U.S. labor policy.

[Orgnizdlbr]

King Rat, just for the heck of it, pick up a copy of "Confessions of a Union Buster" by Martin J. Levitt. It may give you another perspective on the subject.

[KingRat]

Yeah alright, I'll look at it-this stuff really never interested me that much,Be honest with me now- does this stuff actually go on or are you just making it up. I like politics but dislike politicians. Lobby for hours of service exemptions or make utility service workers exempt from federal laws is what gets my attention, thats kinda what I meant, not trying to get a company thats already established to go union? start your own-

[Orgnizdlbr]

Yeah alright, I'll look at it-this stuff really never interested me that much,Be honest with me now- does this stuff actually go on or are you just making it up. I like politics but dislike politicians. Lobby for hours of service exemptions or make utility service workers exempt from federal laws is what gets my attention, thats kinda what I meant, not trying to get a company thats already established to go union? start your own-

I would respectfully submit that you should also read the Wagner Act better known as the National Labor Relations Act. Its online at NLRB.gov. Once you read it, then read the book by Levit, then you'll have an understanding of why The Employee Free Choice Act is so important. And if you have any sense of what is right and wrong, which I'm sure you do, you'll be pissed off after you read Levits book.