Posted by
Dr. Kerry on Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:05:36 AM
Card Check, The Employee “Free Choice” Act
On its surface Card Check appears to simply to be a harmless method of expediently allowing employees to organize into a labor union if they so choose and this, indeed, is what the proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act would have the public believe.
Dig just a little deeper and one finds that the Card Check policy denies voting employees a fundamental American right -- the ability to cast their votes in a secret ballot free of undue persuasion and intimidation. Employees will be required to publicly sign a card in front of union organizers leaving them vulnerable to harassment and abuse. The Employee Free Choice Act will also force companies into binding arbitration with their unionized employees. In the end, the binding arbitration requirement will take away unionized workers’ ability to vote to ratify negotiated working contracts between their union and their employer. In essence, it will be left to the government to set their wages by way of the arbitrator’s binding decision.
Marina Kats opposes any attempt to take away the rights of American workers to cast a secret ballot. She will oppose giving the National Labor Relations Board the ability to forego secret unionization ballots based on publically signed authorizations (Card Check). Marina maintains, as do so many others, that the only valid measure of employees’ desire to unionize can only be determined through the secret balloting system that is free of outside interference or intimidation of any kind.
Marina Kats also stands in opposition to the requirement of the Employee Free Choice Act which dictates that newly certified unions and their employers enter into binding arbitration if a contract agreement cannot be reached within 90 days. In such cases the arbitrator’s decision is final and cannot be appealed. Furthermore, the imposed contract will be in effect for two years, again taking away the rights of employees to negotiate for their own wages. Marina views this as yet another way in which the so called Employee Free Choice Act further erodes the rights of American workers and their employers to negotiate fair market wages and benefits much to the detriment of our free market economy.
Marina Kats has recognized and opposes all of the unfair mandates of this act that put both employees and their employers at a severe disadvantage as compared to the labor unions attempting to impose their will upon both parties.
In short, Marina Kats believes that the current rendition of the Employee Free Choice Act is a farce that is being forced upon unwilling American workers, their employers, and the American consumer by organized labor and their unabashed supporters in the Congress.
Marina Kats would support a legitimate Employee Free Choice Act that must include these critical elements:
- Protects workers' privacy during organizing drives and guarantee every worker the right to vote in a private-ballot election.
- Ensures that workers hear from both sides during an organizing drive and have time to reflect on their choice so they can make an informed and considered decision.
- Protects the right of workers and employers to bargain collectively without having government officials unilaterally impose employment contracts on them.
Reference: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Labor/bg2027.cfm