employee free choice act

Information may change rapidly as the course of legislation progresses.

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) (H.R. 1409, S. 560) is pending legislation in the United States. Its text states that it would "amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an easier system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes."[1] The latest version was introduced into both chambers of the U.S. Congress on 10 March 2009.[2]

In order for a workplace to organize under current U.S. labor law, the card check process begins when an employee requests blank cards from an existing union, and requests signatures on the cards from his colleagues.[3] Once 30% of the work force has signed the cards, the employer may decide to hold a secret ballot election on the question of unionization.[3] In practice, the results of the card check are not presented to the employer until 50 or 60% of employees have signed the cards to help ensure winning the election.[3] If the majority of votes favor the union, the National Labor Relations Board will certify it as the exclusive representative of the employees for the purpose of collective bargaining.

If enacted, EFCA would require the NLRB to certify the union as the bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees signed cards;[1] however, employees may still request a secret ballot election if 30% of employees petition for one.[3] The EFCA would allow employees, rather than employers, to make a decision whether to use the card-check process or hold a secret-ballot election.[3][4] Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Certification on the basis of signed authorizations 3 First Contract Mediation and Arbitration 4 Civil penalties and increased back pay for certain unfair labor practices 5 Jurisdictional Standards 6 Proponents' views 7 Opponents' views 8 Congressional action 9 FedEx and Boeing 10 See also 11 References 12 External links //

Background

A U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor report has pointed out that the overall purpose of the Employee Free Choice Act is "allowing employees to make their own decision about whether they want to bargain together—to advocate for fairer wages, benefits and working conditions—without the threat or fear of harassment and retribution and fear of losing their livelihood."[5] However, the "Minority Views" section of the same report declares that "H.R. 800, the deceptively-named ‘‘Employee Free Choice Act,’’ would strip [the right to a secret ballot] from every American worker. Moreover, the bill makes changes to federal labor law’s scheme of penalties and remedies that are one-sided, unnecessary, and unprecedented. Finally, H.R. 800, for the first time in labor law’s history, imposes a one-size-fits-all scheme of