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Pro-business forces rally against legislation
Alan Rogers
The Catawba County Chamber of Commerce held a rally opposing the Employee Free Choice Act on Tuesday.
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Published: August 20, 2008
HICKORY - Pro-business forces say a piece of federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize could be disastrous for employers and ultimately their employees.
If it becomes law, the Employee Free Choice Act could lead to lost jobs and business closings, said Greg Thompson, North Carolina State Director, National Federation of Independent Business.
"The majority of small business owners don't know about this legislation, and we're here to help get the word out," said Thompson, speaking to a group of about 75 people gathered Tuesday outside the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce.
Sponsored by the National Federation of Independent Business, the Chamber and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the "Business Vs. Labor" rally drew mostly business and industry leaders.
More than a dozen union supporters also attended.
There were no confrontations.
Speakers opposing H.R. 800 — also known as the Employee Free Choice Act — included U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, Randel Johnson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a labor law attorney and the Western Piedmont field representative for Sen. Elizabeth Dole.
The card-check legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act, making it easier for workers to unionize.
Under existing labor law, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board will certify a union as the exclusive representative of employees if it is elected by either a majority signature drive, the card check process or by secret ballot election.
Card check is a method of organizing employees into a labor union in which employees sign authorization forms or cards.
Under the Employee Free Choice Act, an employer would no longer have the opportunity to demand a secret ballot election when a simple majority of employees have signed union authorization cards and there is no evidence of illegal coercion.
The act would allow employees to choose the secret ballot process to elect union representation if they did not want a card check election, but employers would have to accept whichever method employees choose.
Further, if the union and employer cannot agree on the terms of a first collective bargaining contract within 90 days, either party can request federal mediation, which could lead to binding arbitration if an agreement still cannot be reached after an additional 30 days.
The Employee Free Choice Act also would provide for liquidated damages of two times back pay if employers were found to have unlawfully terminated pro-union employees. That is in addition to the back pay owed, for a total of three times the back pay. Current damages are limited to back pay, less any wages earned by an employee if they are hired by another employer.
The House of Representatives passed the act by a vote of 241 to 185. The bill is stalled in the Senate and faces a presidential veto. However, the bill is expected to be voted on in the 111th Congress and is supported by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Republican nominee John McCain opposes it.
Speakers at Tuesday's rally focused on the importance of preserving secret ballot elections for workers deciding whether to unionize.
Under provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act, workers would be put at greater risk of harassment and intimidation by union organizers, they said. Supporters of the act say the current process gives employers time to bully workers before a secret ballot election is held.
"Eliminating the democratic process in the workplace is a serious violation of workers' rights and a threat to their wages," McHenry said.
The bill would take control of the workplace away from employers and hand it to government-appointed arbitrators, said Johnson, vice president of labor immigration and employee benefits for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Most employers don't want a government arbitrator stepping in and telling them what is going to be, Johnson said.
"This legislation is over the top, outrageous," he said.
Thompson, whose National Federation of Independent Business represents 7,200 small business owners in North Carolina, said the Employee Free Choice Act stands to affect small and family owned businesses in ways never seen before.
Thompson noted that North Carolina is one of 22 right-to-work states in which laws prohibit agreements between trade unions and employers making membership or payment of union dues or fees a condition of employment, either before or after hiring.
"If the Employee Free Choice Act passes, being a right-to-work state won't matter anymore," he said.
Danny Hearn, president and chief executive officer of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged that the Hickory area is not a hot bed of union-organizing activity.
"Not yet," Hearn said.
"If this act passes, it will be like letting a kid loose in a candy store."
Speakers at a post-rally labor forum held at the nearby Park Inn Gateway Conference Center agreed.
"This is critical, and needs to be done in every chamber in North Carolina and America," Winston-Salem labor attorney Kenneth Carlson Jr. told about 40 forum participants.
"Being against certain expansive labor and employment laws does not mean that you're against employees.
"At heart is maintaining control of your workplace."
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