Most of the criticism of the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” now pending in the U.S. House and Senate has centered on the card check provision, which would effectively eliminate the right of American workers to a secret ballot when deciding to join a union. However, another key part of the federal “card check” would impose mandatory, binding arbitration by government bureaucrats in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) if employers and union organizers cannot reach a contract agreement.
Under the “card check” legislation, once a worksite is unionized through the elimination of the secret ballot, if the employer and union could not agree to terms in just over three months, a federally-appointed arbitrator would impose wages, benefits, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment on both the employees and employer. Employees who did not vote on the formation of the union and lost their right to participate in a secret-ballot election would have a contract thrust upon them without their vote or consent.
Moreover, within days of the union’s formation, the small-business owner would need to find and hire a labor lawyer to attend to the contract negotiations, whether he or she can afford it or not. Several critics of “card check” note that the NLRB is staffed by political appointees, and that if union negotiators know that NLRB will have a bias toward their viewpoint, there will be little to no incentive for them to negotiate with the business in good faith. For more information on the card check bill and its potential ramifications for Nebraska businesses, go to:
http://www.uschamber.com/issues/index/labor/cardchecksecrbal.htm.
Also, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its “Vote For Business” Web site have made it easy to make your voice heard on the Card Check issue. Just go to http://secretballot.voteforbusiness.net/.
