Sunday, March 29, 2009
Editorial: Card-check bill isn't good for workers
Secret ballots are the best way to ensure neither side in an organizing battle tries to intimidate workers.
From the RoundTable blog
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The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act introduced again in Congress recently is bad legislation that caters to a special interest group: union leaders.
The bill would make it easier to form unions by all but eliminating secret ballots by workers. It would also set tight deadlines for unions and management to agree on a contract before forcing arbitration by a government-appointed panel.
Currently, if a union collects signature cards from more than half of a company's employees indicating they want to organize, the company can either recognize the union or call for a secret ballot.
Most companies call for secret ballots. Union leaders claim that many companies use the time between the collection of the cards and the secret ballot to intimidate workers into voting no.
Businesses say they try to make sure that employees get the complete story about the impact a union will have on the employer-employee relationship so that employees can make an informed choice.
In any case, a truly secret ballot is the best defense against intimidation from either side.
Though that aspect of the legislation has gotten the most press, some business representatives are even more concerned about the mandatory arbitration.
In a recent Wall Street Journal commentary, Peter Hurtgen and John Irving, both formerly of the National Labor Relations Board, wrote, "Mandatory arbitration is a devastatingly bad policy -- it throws a monkey wrench into the collective bargaining process. ... Why make concessions at the bargaining table that would simply move the starting point for arbitration?"
The legislation would force a union and employer into arbitration if they could not agree on their initial contract within 120 days.
The midst of the deepest recession in a generation seems an odd time to hamper the ability of businesses to retain the flexibility required to meet market conditions.
Virginia's senators could become key votes as this legislation moves forward.
Though Sen. Jim Webb supported the legislation in the past, neither he nor Sen. Mark Warner have signed on as co-sponsors of the current legislation.
Both have sent signals that they are open to finding bipartisan compromise on the issue.
It is difficult to imagine a compromise that could salvage this legislation. The two major provisions are simply unacceptable. A union should not be able to form without a secret election verifying that employees actually want collective bargaining. Mandatory arbitration needlessly inserts a third party into the bargaining process and would take away incentives for management and labor to work to find common ground.
We hope that both Warner and Webb will come to that understanding before the legislation is brought up for a vote.
