President Supports EFCA

President Barrack Obama in a speech given at the AFL-CIO convention, proclaimed "I stand behind the Employee Free Choice Act – because if a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union."

(sigh) Before a union can gain the right to represent workers it must have demonstrable support from a majority of workers. This is so because the union becomes the representative of not only those wanting it but also the non-consenting employees who do not. The card signing portion of EFCA is strictly about what method is permitted to establish majority status. The unions want a one-sided process where they can surreptitiously convince employees to "support" the union often using heavy-handed and abusive tactics to do so. The process is fraught with concern as to whether majority status is real or coerced. We have previously posted on this problem. More after the jump.
The public sees the card signing provision as taking away the right to vote in secret on an important issue. Many in Congress agree. Historically both the NLRB and the Courts have held a secret ballot election is the preferred method of determining majority status. The problem, says labor, is employer coercion in the election process. Labor's solution is to eliminate the need for an election. Their solution makes it virtually impossible to determine if a surreptitious card signing "majority" is both informed and not coerced. Another problem with card signing is that it is inevitably done over a period of time in any sizable workforce, and is based on the assumption that all of the signers of the cards continue to support the union indefinitely. Without a simple mechanism for employees to revoke their prior support, the union may be able to demonstrate majority status, where it does not and never did exist. A properly conducted secret ballot election determines as of the election day whether or not an uncoerced majority of employees eligible to vote actually support union representation. Implicit in the President's comment is the assumption that card signing is a valid way to evaluate the existence of majority support for union representation. We do not believe it is.

Senator Arlen Specter has recognized this problem and recently proposed an alternative bill which will provide for expedited secret ballot elections and stiffer penalties for employers coercive tactics. It is unlikely any serious discussion will occur on Capital Hill about EFCA in any form, until after healthcare has been decided, but Senator Specter remains a key player in finding a bill that will get past a filibuster. Labor has the President's strong support and a majority of the House and Senate supporting significant pro-labor changes to the existing laws.