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Card Check without Card Check
It now appears that the version of the Employee Free Choice Act that is likely to pass Congress will not include its most controversial provision, which would have made it possible to certify a union without an election. The bill will, however, contain a number of provisions that will make it substantially easier for unions to organize. They will be able to call elections on very short notice, perhaps as little as five days, if they collect a sufficient number of cards. They will obtain access to the employer's property to campaign. And employers may be prohibited from requiring employees to attend meetings at which the company presents its reasons for opposing a union.
While many who have been pushing for card check legislation will be disappointed, it appears that union advocates recognize that these are substantial changes, that should provide lots of opportunities for unions to organize. At the same time, employers preserve the principle of the secret ballot, and many of the perceived dangers of the original version of card check legislation are avoided.
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1 comments:
I find the exclusion of card check ironic and infuriating. After all, card check was one of the central provisions of the National Labor Relations Act back in New Deal days. Every Republican administration since (including Republicans in Democrat's clothing, i.e. Bill Clinton) have gradually eroded the NLRB into relative insignificance.
Framing "card check" as something new and dangerous just makes clear how far we have come from halcyon days past.
In its original incarnation, the notion of union organization did not include any provisions for management obstruction. They already had the ability to do that simply by having a captive audience. There is nothing wrong with the concept that union organizers ought to have the same privilege of direct approach.
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