Federal ‘card check’ bill stopped in Senate

(July 17, 2007) This year Congress grappled with legislation that would have dealt a devastating blow to labor relations in many workplaces around the nation by eliminating a worker’s right to decide whether to join an organized labor union by secret ballot.

The so-called Employee Free Choice Act (HR 800) would have replaced the secret-ballot process for union elections with a card-check system, overturning a longstanding policy established under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Under a card-check system, a union would be recognized and established as the official employee bargaining unit merely if a majority of employees at a company signed a petition or card indicating their desire to organize and to have a particular union represent their interests.

Sponsored by a faction of union supporters in Congress led by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the bill passed the U.S. House but ultimately failed in the Senate.

In the current secret-ballot voting system that’s conducted according to the NLRA, employees cast their votes in a private, confidential setting free from coercion and intimidation by either union organizers or employers. Votes are subject to scrutiny only by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which can impose stiff penalties for violations of these election laws.

But HR 800 sought to amend the NLRA in the following ways:

Certification by majority of employee signatures: Once a majority of employees sign a card indicating their desire to have a particular labor union represent their interests, the NLRB would automatically recognize that union as the employees’ official bargaining unit. With no time limit for obtaining the requisite number of signatures, union organizers could take as long as they needed to secure the requisite number of signatures to be certified by the NLRB. That could hold union elections in abeyance for an unlimited amount of time, leaving employers little ability to object or challenge the process until an election was actually held.

Employer penalties: HR 800 would subject employers to civil penalties of up to $20,000 for each charged violation of discrimination, wrongful discharge or otherwise unfair labor practice against employees who seek to join a labor union. Aggrieved employees would be entitled to back pay, and the NLRB would be required to seek federal court injunctions and temporary restraining orders against employers.

Mandatory contract mediation and arbitration: HR 800 also required that all first-time collective bargaining contracts be subject to federal mediation and arbitration. It empowered arbitrators to impose on employers collective bargaining agreements covering wages, benefits, and any other term or condition of the workplace, and employers would be powerless to overcome these impositions for two years afterward.

Fortunately, employers escaped the harmful effects of HR 800 because it was narrowly defeated in the Senate. However, given that Connecticut’s entire congressional delegation voted in support of HR 800, it is imperative that the business community educate our federal lawmakers about the impact HR 800 would have had on business and economic development in the state.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Kia Floyd at 860-244-1931 or floydk@cbia.com.