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The Employee Free Choice Act, or the EFCA, is a provision that is both highly revered and highly contested. EFCA gives workers easier paths to organize unions in the workplace, while leveling the playing field by penalizing companies who violate the law during the organizing and contracting of campaigns. Its biggest advocate, the AFL-CIO, says that the EFCA will "put the choice of weather to form a union back into the workers hands by giving them the option of using majority sign-up" (AFL-CIO 2009), while the biggest opponents, Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) think that the Employee Free Choice Act, "will take away numerous rights and protections currently afforded to workers employed at companies where unions are actively seeking to organize." (AWF website) The terms of the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 will amend the current National Labor Relations Act by streamlining union certification, require the union and the company to enter binding arbitration to produce an agreement no more than 120 days after the union is recognized and finally, increase penalties on those companies who punish those workers who are involved in the union.
In Michigan, the number of people unionized has been falling. There have been concerns about how the EFCA will affect West Michigan more specifically. West Michigan has the largest union (UAW 1-D) region in the state. 1-D covers everyone outside of the Detroit area and so the act will have a huge effect on this area of the state. The EFCA will give those who were previously timid about joining or forming a union because of intimidation or coercion, the ability to do so because they are choosing to, not because they have to or are not allowed. Republicans, however, are the majority of those who are opposed to the measure, (along with business owners, Chambers of Commerce and manufacturing trade companies) which was proposed by then-Senator Barack Obama. Republicans have stopped the measure in the Senate, putting forth a resolution to vote against the federal EFCA. Senator Mark C. Jansen (R-Gaines County) said, "I introduced this resolution to help protect the sacred American tradition of a private ballot. Senate Republicans believe the right to vote is a personal and private matter." (The Michigan Messenger, 2-23-09) The Republicans and other opponents of the EFCA are pursuing a mix of strategies to ensure that the act does not get passed, such as developing state laws that block the implementation of the federal law and even just building opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. However, the House, with its strong Democratic majority, is expected to pass the bill. Among other proponents of the bill are not surprising: local union chapters. Those like United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951, say that it will give the employees their rights to organize and bargain collectively without the feelings of coercion and harassment.
There are no alternatives to this except to stop passage or make new laws to stop implementation, both of which are proposed (and passed, in the Senate) by Republicans in Michigan. Many think that this legislation is going to hurt West Michigan especially, since there are so many business and even more unions out in that part of the state. Should this be passed, there is one thing that many believe would be a necessity to pass immediately after: a right-to-work act, stating that if someone did not choose to be in the union, they should not have to pay union dues or fees, and cannot be penalized for failing to do so. While the Employee Free Choice Act has many perks, it leaves a lingering question: just what is it that the workers want?
Note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly listed the Associated Builders and Contractors as a supporter of EFCA. They are not a supporter.
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*Employees can "vote" for a union 24, 7, 365. They never get to vote against it. Nobody is THAT happy in their job when there's never a moment when they won't sign a card (read: Vote!) for a union, even when that person would never vote for a union under more sober realities. If we voted for politicians this way, they'd all get thrown out every April 15.
*A government appointed arbitrator cannot and should not tell an employer what they will pay an employee, or an employee what they will earn. Contract negotiations are supposed to result in a meeting of the minds. I happen to love and voted for President Obama, but that sounds like socialism to me.
I like the third part of EFCA increasing employer penalties for violating the NLRA.