Card Check
With the election of a new president and Democrat majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, union influence, once a dwindling force, has new life and newly elected supporters.
As previous Congressional sessions, the 111th Congress is once again considering legislation that will make it easier for unions to organize in the workplace. The ill-advised public policy of eliminating a “secret ballot” was incorporated into the legislation known as Card Check.
Companion pieces of legislation, titled the Employee Free Choice Act - also known as "card check." have been introduced in both the Senate (S 560) and in the House
(HR 1409).
If passed, the bill will allow workers to unionize by simply presenting a check-off petition alleging that a majority of the workforce wishes to enter into collective bargaining. Passing this bill will end the practice of using federally supervised secret ballots as a method of voting to unionize workers.
Passage will also require binding arbitration, which will force a government-dictated, two-year contract on a business if an agreement is not reached within 120 days of union certification. This will result in a second elimination of a secret ballot for employees who would lose the opportunity to vote on the agreement.
The bill will impose onerous new penalties on employers for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, without corresponding penalties for unions or labor organizers.
GCP GOAL:
The GCP believes this anti-business legislation is simply unfair, making it tougher for employers to operate their businesses. As always, GCP advocates for business growth that results in job creation in northeast Ohio and will be opposing efforts to enact any and all of the provision of card check.