EFCA "Compromise" Update

This just in from the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace:

We wanted to make sure everyone had the latest on EFCA alternatives in the Senate.

See this Wall Street Journal story ( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124243752071226041.html) that lays out to proposals from Senator Specter. These new versions of EFCA perfectly show the trap that is set by "compromise" discussions.

As the WSJ reports, Senator Specter is proposing the use of mail-in union authorization cards. The NLRB currently uses mail-in ballots in place of secret ballot elections held on the employer’s premises in rare circumstances where “eligible voters are scattered . . . over a wide geographic area” or are otherwise “not present at a common location at common times” – and only then after considering various other factors.

NLRB career staff have mentioned several problems with the mail-in ballots, including “the potential interference by any party in a mail ballot situation…” To top it off, statistics substantially lower participation rates by potential voters in mail-in ballots than in secret ballot elections.

If men were angels, this mail-in system would somehow protect an employee's right to make their decision in private. However, in reality, mail-in cards simply force the professional union organizers to bring along a stamped envelope when they present the cards to be signed. If they're real "nice," they could even offer to drop the envelope at the post office, too.

Senator Specter is also floating "last best offer" arbitration. While this differs somewhat from the original EFCA, binding arbitration still give a government bureaucrat the ability to impose a labor contract---wages, hours, work rules, pension, etc---on American entrepreneurs. Moreover, in choosing which offer is the most reasonable, the arbitrators will look to other unionized employers in the industry. For example, if you are an auto maker, your offer will be compared to Ford, GM and Chrysler’s contracts, not their nonunion competitors.

CDW members who have a presence in PA should contact Senator Specter to let him know that this version of EFCA is just as bad as the original.