Wellstone Action!

posted by sbrewer

MARCH 23, 2009

You may be wondering what all the hoopla surrounding The Employee Free Choice Act is about. The title of the act seems straight forward and on point- Employee Free Choice, meaning the worker will have the freedom to choose if she/he wants to be a part of a union.

Workers want unions! Research shows that 60 million workers would join a union tomorrow if they could (www.aflcio.org). Historically, unions have been a good thing. They help workers demand and receive higher wages, better working conditions and get health and retirement benefits. But currently the power to decide if workers can have union representation lies in the hands of the Bosses.  As of 2008, only 12% of our workforce is represented by unions. Government workers are nearly five times more likely to belong to a union than are private-sector employees, 36.8% versus 7.6%. Union membership is highest among workers 55 to 64 years old, at 16.6%, and lowest among those 16 to 24 years old, at 5% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
(Photo by cursedthing http://www.flickr.com/photos/cursedthing/2343881245/)

As you might imagine, within minutes of the Act being introduced on March 10, there was outcry against it. Conservative Senators, big business executives and right-wing websites alike are insisting that this bill will bring an end to worker's rights, cut jobs and ruin the economy.
(click here to watch "EFCA will cost jobs" ad)

But isn’t that already happening? Is the fear really about workers losing their rights or are the powerful people being greedy about giving up their high salaries and bonus packages? Media ads all over the web tell us that unions will ruin our businesses!!!- but won’t it actually help us all receive better wages and benefits and therefore support the growth of the middle class which is vital to strengthening our economy?

(click to watch The "horror" of the EFCA)
(Photo by AFLCIO2008 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008/3310628910/)

Senator Wellstone had the right idea when he said “we all do better when we all do better.”

So what does this mean for us young people?

We, as a generation, earn less than our parents did a generation ago. As well we are likely to have jobs with fewer benefits and pensions- 1 out of 3 workers between the ages of 18-34 are uninsured. Young people who are represented by a union earn more than 12% than their non-unionize counterpart.  It is extremely important for young people to have the opportunity to unionize and the option to move up into the middle class. It’s time for workers to get their voice back, and for young people to feel confident about their future.


Let’s look at the truths and lies surrounding the anti-Employee Free Choice Act argument:

The Myth- They say EFCA will end secret ballot elections and ruin our democracy.

How Secret Ballot elections work- basically 30% of the workers decide they want a union to represent them. Workers do this by signing cards asking for representation. Then the employer decides there will be a private election to vote for a union. The National Labor Relations Board then chooses the date for the election. Let’s say it will take place three months from now. Management often uses those three months to scare the workers away from unionizing. They control all the information that workers receive. They make sure unions don’t come in to promote representation. They threaten, harass and even fire people who want to join a union. By the time the election comes around, many workers are so scared they will lose their job, they vote against the union.
click to watch worker's discuss EFCA

The Reality- Secret ballots aren’t going away. With the new bill workers will have the power to choose if they want an election or not. Otherwise they can use majority-card signings to request union representation. None of this will change with EFCA. The bill will simply take away the EMPLOYERS right to insist on a ballot election--something big business doesn’t like, claiming that it takes away employers right to “teach” workers about the “downside” of joining a union. Opponents are straight up lying about secret ballot elections being ended.

The Myth- They say EFCA will perpetuate job loss- if everyone unionizes, that means employers will have to increase workers wages and benefits, and there won’t be enough money to keep everyone’s job.

The Reality- Unions will help with our economic recovery and strengthen the middle class. If workers are making higher wagers, that means they have more money to spend on products and goods. If the demand for products and goods increases, so will the need for workers. Right now job losses are large and widespread and it is the workers and the middle class that are being affected. In February, 651,000 more jobs were lost, and the unemployment rate rose from 7.6 to 8.1 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).  Unionizing will allow people with low wage jobs to bargain for wages that are above the poverty line. It will increase wages, healthcare coverage and retirement benefits for workers. It would level the playing field between the employer and the employee, helping the middle class by allowing people to negotiate for a better life.

Big business bosses, like Wal-mart, Home Depot, and Whole Foods, are really scared of losing their large paychecks. Top corporate executives earned more than 411 times that of the average worker in 2005, while stagnant incomes among workers and the middle class over the last decade have led many into excessive debt. The ONLY time in American history where poor and working class income grew at a rate faster than the wealthiest in this country was in the 1950’s, after the huge growth of unions in the late 1930s and 1940s.  This was despite the outcries by business in the 1930s that unions would put the US into a permanent depression.
click here to learn more about the history of the labor union movement

The Myth- The new bill will require a government mediator to come in and create a union contract for the worker and employer without the consent of either.

Currently there is no enforced time frame for which employers must agree upon a contract and employers get away with stalling the bargaining process. They often take years to come to a decision on the terms of the contract and purposefully stall negotiations until workers give up in despair. By doing this, they are keeping the union from helping the workers.

The Reality- The Employee Free Choice Act simply says that the employer and the workers have to sit down and bargain a contract.  The federal mediator doesn’t step in unless the employer and workers cannot agree upon a mutual contract within 90 days. They are there to assist the worker and employer to come to an agreement within 30 days. This is to make sure that the process of bargaining is not delayed. If an agreement is still not made, a two-year contract decided by the mediator will be put in place.

The Myth- EFCA would toughen penalties against employers who violate employee’s rights but not against unions, “who would get off scott free for any violations”.

Reality- Strict monetary fines will be placed on employers who use harassment, intimidation and illegal firing during the initial organizing and bargaining period. Currently, the penalties are so low that many employers calculate that it is worth “risking” violating the law to achieve their end of busting the union.  Few objective observers really think that workers have too much power today and corporations too little.  What is needed are laws that restore the balance of power and give workers a free choice over their own destiny.

For more information and statistics check out American Rights at Work, the Economic Policy Institute, and other resources.