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

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.

Investors Business Daily today says one of labor’s top goals — protectionism that prevents more efficiently produced goods and services from being offered to American consumers at attractive prices — will come at a cost of nearly 600,000 jobs.

Just a reminder: A study by Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar estimated that the Employee Free Choice Act would cost an estimated 600,000 jobs in its first year (and as many as up to 5 million in the time period studied).

So the agenda of a few top union bosses will make goods more expensive and jobs more scarce. That is a recipe for economic disaster.

Dave Wanzenreid, a state senator from Missoula, has taken to the Great Falls Tribune to argue for the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act. Tsk Tsk, Mr. Wanzenreid.

The good state senator relies primarily on redistribution arguments — it’s better for employees if everyone is unionized and they make more money, etc. Of course, he ignores the labor cartel nature of unions and that increasing unionization through EFCA will drive a reduction in employment for everyone else.

But he also ignores the elephant in the room: EFCA will strip the right to a secret ballot for more than 300,000 Montanans, according to the Heritage Foundation, and will impose government arbitrators on countless small businesses.

So, it hurts all business, reduces most jobs, and strips the right to a secret ballot for hundreds of thousands of his constituents? Mr. Wanzenreid is good with that?

Louisiana news outlet The Advocate has a fair and provocative article on the fight over the Employee Free Choice Act, but we think this intro leaves a bit out:

The debate is one of Washington

(Admin update — we will be keeping this post at the top of The Truth About EFCA.com while this ad runs across the nation. Be sure to scroll down for our fresh posts)

Click to watch the Free Enterprise Alliance’s ad running across the nation. It will educate Americans about the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act’s job-killing potential as legislators head home for the August recess.

According to research by Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar, the bill’s card check provision and binding arbitration language could lead to a reduction in employment of anywhere from 600,000 jobs to … well, millions.

That’s a cost that we can’t bear in any economy, let alone the tough times our nation faces now. That’s why there can be no compromise on a job-killing bill like the Employee Free Choice Act.

A new mailer hitting Virginia mailboxes asks residents to contact Sen. Jim Webb and Sen. Mark Warner to support the Employee Free Choice Act. In short, the mailer pleads, “We need a new law to make sure workers have a voice in the workplace.” Leave aside for a moment the fact that the statement is incorrect or, at the very least, highly arguable. Focus, instead, on the group making this plea.

The Service Employees International Union is to be thanked for the pretty direct mail piece. Its motto for this purpose is “Change That Works.” “Works” would be news to the 75 staffers the union bagged due to financial problems.

And what of SEIU’s basic point about needing “card check” sign-up for joining a union instead of the current elections process (which actually protects employees, rather than harming them)? Well, Workforce Management is reminding readers that “The Service Employees International Union is being accused of refusing to allow members to use the card-check process to defect to a rival union.”

And, of course, there’s SEIU’s hypocrisy on EFCA’s binding arbitration provision.

Senators Webb and Warner would be better served listening to their real constituents, not a hypocritical, self-interested money machine.