PRESS RELEASE: Club Chairman Rogers Defends Employee Rights In Card Check Legislation Debate
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In a debate today sponsored by the Lexington Forum, Kentucky Club for Growth Chairman Warren Rogers examined the “Employee Free Choice Act” and the various ways the act will deny choice to workers. Arguing for Card Check was Bill Londrigran, the President of the Kentucky AFL-CIO.
“The Employee Free Choice Act really takes choice away from the worker when they are faced with the question of joining with their coworkers in a union” said Mr. Rogers. “It takes away the ability of workers to cast a vote in a secret ballot process, denies workers the choice not to participate in a union, and forces workers into their original union contract with no option to reject it. After this remarkable, historic election, it is incredible that Mr. Londrigran would argue that there is a better method of protecting people’s choice.”
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) passed the House of Representatives in March 2007 and then failed a vote in the Senate that June. Many speculate that it will be a top priority of an Obama administration looking to find a legislative win that does not require spending.
The EFCA contains three main provisions:
- It requires the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union if it receives signed cards of interest by a majority of workers, no longer allowing a secret ballot election after these cards have been signed.
- It requires binding interest arbitration to create the first contract between the union and the employer, no longer allowing either side to accept or reject the contract.
- It increases penalties to employers.
“Signing a card is not the same as a vote. It is more like signing a petition. The secret ballot not only protects voters from intimidation on all sides, it creates a specific decision point where voters will take it upon themselves to make an informed and weighed choice. This is not the case when someone is asked to sign a petition with no clear result defined,” explained Mr. Rogers.
“Under the required arbitration provision, the original contract will now be created by a federal employee instead of an agreement between the company and the union,” Mr. Rogers continued. “In the discussion, Mr. Londrigran suggested that ‘sometimes you have to have imposed agreements.’ I don’t know how something can be an agreement if it is imposed.”
“A worker might not even know his coworkers are signing cards. Under EFCA, that worker didn’t participate in the discussion, doesn’t get to vote on it, has his contract handed to him by a federal employee, and no longer can individually negotiate for his salary or promotion. That is not free choice,” said Mr. Rogers. “I would encourage all citizens to learn more about this legislation and contact their legislators about it.”
The Kentucky Club for Growth is a bi-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the system of free enterprise that allows individuals the opportunity to bring growth and jobs to the commonwealth. It is an affiliate of the national Club for Growth.
