"Union intimidation" a myth? You obviously need to climb out of that Ivory Tower and learn the facts. You might want to start by reading a few of the cases, a few litigated by yours truly.
As for "making it easier to join a union," it is quite easy to "join a union." The misnomered "Employee Free Choice Act," of course, has nothing with "making it easier to join a union." What it has everything to do with is "making it easier" to impose monopoly bargaining upon employees who want nothing to do with a union and paying forced union dues.
Cite some sources, and we'll talk.
The entire idea behind a SECRET ballot is that no one will know who actually voted one way or the other whether the union wins or not. (As I noted, unions win the organizing elections 61% of the time.) However, with a card check, the unions would know exactly who didn't sign (as would management know who did) which puts a lot of pressure on holdout employees. If the card check led to a vote, one could claim, "well, I signed for the vote but I did/didn't vote for the union."
I see nothing wrong with the system as is; granted I work in what's essentially a non-union, at-will business. Having a union probably wouldn't have saved the guy who we laid off today - nor will it save the vast majority of the Newark Chrysler employees who will be out of a job when their plant closes.
Although I'm opposed to the EFCA, I do wish to keep the debate civil, and these notes are offered in that spirit.
With regard to your assertion that "While that's technically illegal, the penalties for doing so are so feeble, and the National Labor Relations Board so tilted in favor of management, that there are really no protections at all," I suggest that this may be a bit of hyperbole. In fact:
-Where an employer’s unlawful actions have undermined the union's majority and made a fair election an unlikely possibility, the Board has the authority to order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union even where there has been no secret ballot election or where the union has lost an election. This authority was upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co.
-Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act gives the National Labor Relations Board the authority to seek petition any U.S. district court for “such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and proper.” This can include the immediate reinstatement of a discharged union supporter while unfair labor practice proceedings are pending.
-Where a party refuses to comply with a Circuit Court’s order enforcing an NLRB decision, the NLRB’s Contempt Litigation and Compliance Branch can seek civil penalties, criminal sanctions, and extraordinary injunctive relief. (See NLRB v. Local 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)
Additionally, though the prior comment failed to offer a source, I will point out that in 2005 alone, some 5,405 Charges were filed against unions alleging “illegal restraint and coercion of employees” and 594 Charges alleged “illegal union discrimination against employees.” (2005 NLRB Annual Report, p. 15). While this does not mean that all union supporters are thugs -- in fact, my experience reveals that the opposite is true -- it does demonstrate that union intimidation is not a mere "myth."
www.efcaupdates.com
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