thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check

These are real Americans with real jobs warning about the very real problems with the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. This video from Associated Builders and Contractors is directed at Sen. Kay Hagan, but its message should be clear to all our elected leaders.

Associated Builders and Contractors was pleased to welcome Michael Steele to our Metro Washington regional meeting discussing the troubling consequences of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act.

Check out this letter suggesting the Employee Free Choice Act doesn’t live up to international labor standards.

Andy Stern, head of the most influential union in politics, is sticking by card check. He also said of Sen. Arlen Specter: “if he

Today the Chamber of Commerce, a staunch ally of Associated Builders and Contractors and opponent of the unfair, undemocratic Employee Free Choice Act, held an event for small businesses. One key topic of “Rebuilding Our Economy Together”: card check. Steven Law, a former Department of Labor official, gave a talk that included some important points worth remembering:

• Organized labor outspent the old NRA political campaigns by a factor of ten to increase its influence
• Organized labor is one of the most powerful groups in DC right now … one way to know is that while transparency is the watchword for most of government, there is one exception — for organized labor
• Labor wants to use its clout on a number of causes, but the number one point is EFCA
• The threat of intimidation is real: “organizers determine how organizing gets done” … “they could walk up to a worker and stand there until the worker makes up their mind” … once the union “got a bare majority to decide … it would be illegal” to hold an election
• Deadline for contract is highly arbitrary … this tool “would give the government unprecedented power to allow government” to decide how small businesses make their key decisions
• Law reminds the audience that the bill’s penalties only apply to employer behavior
• “we have only one recourse” to beat this legislation: the filibuster
• The Chamber audience really got a laugh out of a union toolkit on EFCA that advised candidates to avoid at all costs any deep discussion of the issue
• The audience clearly thought it was interesting that former Sen. George McGovern has spoken out against EFCA
• It’s important to note, Law says, that if people want to join unions they should be able to do so as long as the process protects the rights of workers and employers
• It’s had to imagine “something within the four corners” of this legislation that you could compromise on, Law said
• Law notes that organized labor has a long wish list that goes beyond EFCA to “fundamentally change what it means to be an employer in this country forever and in a huge” and permanent way.

Be sure to check out the Chamber’s TV spots (and don’t forget to watch ABC’s video explaining the subject on the top right of this page).

Sen. John Thune and Rep. Eric Canto today have a joint article in Politico, which describes how a new Democratic group called Business Forward can work with industry, and of course card check is a big issue:

Plain and simple, card check is a job killer. The Employee Free Choice Act, as it is deceptively named, would strip workers of the right to vote for union membership by private ballot, exposing them to coercion and intimidation. Just as bad, if a recently formed union doesn