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

The Education and Labor Committee Republicans have pointed out this fantastic story from New Zealand:

Want to know what the world would look like if the Employee Free Choice Act passed? Consider the response when union activists in Pennsylvania found out that opponents of Project Labor Agreements — special interest rules that really only allow unionize employees to work on public, taxpayer projects — were going to meet.

The Commonwealth Foundation reports:

While union members may enjoy these lucrative contracts, PLAs only end up costing taxpayers money and private contactors jobs. Why not give everyone a fair chance to bid on government contracts? This is why State Representatives John Bear and Stan Saylor were holding a press conference in front of the capital

Michael O’Brien over at The Hill is reporting “Controversial “card check” legislation will hopefully make its way through the Senate this fall, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Tuesday.”

Harkin told the “liberal Bill Press” show (as O’Brien puts it) that EFCA is “something that we have to do.” O’Brien’s take is that Harkin is “hopeful” for a vote on EFCA this Fall.

But hope is not a plan and we don’t see too many ways that EFCA will come up for a vote while it remains so wildly unpopular.

Reminder: The only way to ensure a victory against this dreadful bill is to keep active, keep fighting. Contact your legislators now!

You know things aren’t going well for the forces of … er, let’s just say proponents of the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act. One commentator is down to invoking the name of union folk hero Norma Rae — not her organizing effort so much as her battle with an insurance industry.

Doesn’t make much sense? Unions and their allies are trying to tie the wildly unpopular card check bill with anything that could be more sympathetic. So in this case it’s about getting back at insurance companies (the thought being, it seems, that more workers in unions will mean more power for the Big Labor special interest to attack the insurance lobby).

There’s something that union bosses and their allies may want to remember about the true story of Norma Rae’s union drive. This plot summary from Wikipedia:

Norma Rae Webster is a minimum-wage worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on the health of her family for her to ignore her Dickensian working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben Warshowsky, Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes conflict at home when Norma Rae’s husband Sonny assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Despite the pressure brought to bear by management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates an election to unionize the factory, resulting in victory for the union and presumably capitulation for the demands. When Reuben first comes to the factory he tries to get all the workers to start a union, but is soon chased out of the small town. Days later Norma Rae shuts down her machine and stands on top of it striking. Soon the whole factory is with her and a union starts.

Ho, ho, that’s rich! Norma Rae won a ground-up organizing election but Big Labor wants to effectively eliminate the secret ballot process.

Richard Greeley, a legislator from Massachusetts, says card check doesn’t pass the smell test:

Here

Many are aware of the ongoing effort by Associated Builders and Contractors and Free Enterprise Alliance to educate our members, the general public, and legislators about the anti-democratic, job-killing nature of the misleadingly named Employee Free Choice Act. As part of that effort, we have asked some leading legislators their views on the bill.

Today’s interviewee is Rep. Joe Wilson, who represents South Carolina’s Second District.

1) What is the status of the Employee Free Choice Act and what is your position on the legislation?

I am opposed to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act because it all but eliminates an employee’s right to a secret ballot and would require the government to step in between an employer and their employees to impose binding arbitration. It would be a clear detriment to job creation and a roadblock to reform.

2) ABC members believe that there is no “compromise” on a bill that starts out so badly as to include “card check” and binding arbitration. What is your view of “compromise” on EFCA?

I believe this legislation is bad for employers and employees alike and should be put aside altogether.

3) Have you heard from your constituents on EFCA and the impact the bill would have on your district?

I have heard from individuals in the Second Congressional District who believe we need to protect the rights of our employees and that includes the right to a secret ballot. They understand how this legislation would damage job creation and hurt an economic recovery.

4) In your view, are there other, better legal or regulatory reforms that would be more helpful to working Americans and our economy?

The key to restoring our economy is helping businesses create new jobs. We can start by putting to rest attempts to raise taxes on small businesses whether through a big government health care plan or a cap and tax scheme both of which would destroy jobs. More specifically, I’ve been a longtime supporter of expanding bonus depreciation for businesses to encourage the purchase of new equipment and the growth in business that will create jobs.

5) If you could tell an ABC member one thing about your position on workforce laws and other laws governing the marketplace, what would you say?

We need to promote the free market and ensure that laws and reforms are targeted in support of a limited government involvement.