HRM 4570 ILR Homework 1

Rain Ashbell

10HRM4570ILRCh6.2UnionOrganizingOnlineLecture2019-20audio.pptx

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Chapter 6 Part 2

Union Organizing

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Hi Class, Welcome to Industrial and Labor Relations. Today we are going to discuss Chapter 6 Union Organizing Part 2

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Voting decision is practical

Is based on the perceived costs and benefits of unionization

Two points for voting decision are

Frustration models - Only dissatisfied workers will consider unionizing

Utility maximization - Rational workers will consider unionization if it increases their well-being

Individual Voting Decisions

An important question in labor relations is what influences individual workers to vote yes to form a union or no to remain nonunion.

The voting decision is believed to be practical and is based on the perceived costs and benefits of unionization as well as an individual attitudes toward unions. Two starting points for the voting decisions are Frustration models and Utility maximization :

Frustration models suggest that only dissatisfied workers or those frustrated by perceived workplace injustice will consider unionizing; can be thought of as psychological models because they are rooted in dissonance between desired and actual employment conditions.

Utility maximization models refers to the economic models which believe that rational workers will consider unionization if it increases their well-being and the benefits outweigh the costs; job dissatisfaction is not required.

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The following three additional items are also important in influencing individual voting decision:

A worker needs to feel that the union will be effective in improving things in the specific workplace.

A worker usually must not have negative views about unions in general.

The social environment of the workplace must be favorable to unionization.

Individual Voting Decisions

The following three additional items are also important in influencing individual voting decision:

1. A worker needs to feel that the union will be effective in improving things in the specific workplace.

2. A worker usually must not have negative views about unions in general.

3. The social environment of the workplace must be favorable to unionization.

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In order for job dissatisfaction and utility maximization to translate into a vote for unionization:

Union instrumentality: Degree to which an individual thinks a union will be instrumental in improving the workplace

A worker attitudes toward unions

Social aspects of the workplace

Individual Voting Decisions

In other words, in order for job dissatisfaction and utility maximization to translate into a vote for unionization:

Union instrumentality is the degree to which an individual thinks a union will be instrumental (successful) in improving the workplace; it is considered as the most consistent predictor of union support.

Workers’ attitude toward unions in general is also influences whether workers will vote for a union. On the negative side, these general attitudes might include view of unions as autocratic, discriminatory, corrupt, outdated, bureaucratic, or conflictual; positive attitudes can include beliefs that unions improve working conditions, help ensure that workers are treated fairly, and lobby for needed protective labor legislation.

Social aspects of the workplace can also affect whether job dissatisfaction translates into a pro-union vote. Social pressure measures the extent to which an individual thinks his or her coworkers support the union—especially respected coworkers. Social aspects of the workplace capture the basic fact that unionization is ultimately a social or collective rather than individual activity. Workplace-level employee solidarity and social identification are important factors in determining whether workers will try to correct perceived workplace injustices individually or collectively; if workplace solidarity is low and workers have more of an individual rather than collective social identity, job dissatisfaction is not likely to translate into pro-union support.

In the United States and Canada, the decision to join a union is closely linked to collective representation in the workplace.

An alternative explanation for why workers join unions focuses on political and ideological beliefs, but this is more appropriate in Europe.

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Figure 6.3 - The Individual Voting Decision in NLRB Representation Elections

Figure 6.3 shows the Individual Voting Decision in NLRB Representation Elections

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Four key determinants of individual voting

Job dissatisfaction,

union instrumentality,

general union attitudes, and

collective social identity

Individual Voting Decisions

In summary, the four key determinants of individual voting are

Job dissatisfaction,

union instrumentality,

general union attitudes, and

collective social identity

Workers are more likely to vote for unions in the following situations:

When workers are dissatisfied with their jobs

When they believe unions will be successful in improving the workplace which means when the union instrumentality is high

When they are pro-union or have positive attitudes about unions,

When they think their co-workers support the union. If workplace level employee solidarity and social identification are high, workers are more likely to unionize because of the greater collective social identity, individual workers are more likely to vote yes for unions because they want to support their coworkers.

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1. Communicating with employees

2. Employer restrictions on employees and union organizers

3. Union avoidance consultants and lawyers

Employer Campaigning Tactics

In summary, there are five Employer Campaigning Tactics

1. Communicating with employees

2. Employer restrictions on employees and union organizers

3. Union avoidance consultants and lawyers

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Communicating with employees

Supervisors might meet with employees individually or in small groups

Different forms of communication are acceptable unless the employer is too aggressive and makes threats or promises

Letters or e-mail messages might be sent to workers

Strikes and paying dues are also frequent themes

Employer Campaigning

The first employer campaigning tactic is to communicate with employees:

Supervisors might meet with employees individually or in small groups

Different forms of communication are acceptable unless the employer is too aggressive and makes threats or promises

Letters or e-mail messages might be sent to workers

Strikes and paying dues are also frequent themes

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1. Communicating with employees

Information and opinions are shared with employees using a variety of methods:

Supervisors might meet with employees individually or in small groups

Letters or e-mail messages might be sent to workers, etc.

Captive audience meeting

Meetings at workplace in working hours in which employees are forced to listen management’s antiunion and pro-company presentations

Employer Campaigning

The first employer campaigning tactic is to communicate with employees:

Information and opinions are shared with employees using a variety of methods:

Supervisors might meet with employees individually or in small groups

Letters or e-mail messages might be sent to workers, etc.

An important employer tactic for sharing information and opinions is the captive audience meeting—a group meeting held in the workplace during working hours in which employees are forced to listen to management’s antiunion and pro-company presentations; such meetings are legal as long as they are not within 24 hours of the election; employers justify them on the basis of property and free speech rights; unions criticize them as giving employers an unfair advantage in communicating with, and perhaps pressuring, the employees.

Different forms of communication are acceptable unless the employer is too aggressive and makes threats or promises; however, there is a fine line between predictions or opinions on one hand and threats on the other.

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1. Communicating with employees

Predictions based on objective facts that some events will likely occur because of forces beyond the employer’s control

A visit to an employee’s home by a management official is grounds for invalidating an election

Antiunion committees might be formed, supervisors might be reassigned and parties may be thrown out

Employer Campaigning

Predictions based on objective facts that some events will likely occur because of forces beyond the employer’s control (like competitive forces) are acceptable; statements that convey the impression that these events are inevitable or at the discretion of the employer are prohibited threats.

A visit to an employee’s home by a management official is grounds for invalidating an election—because the employer controls an employee’s job, visiting him or her at home is viewed as intimidating and coercive

Antiunion committees might be formed, supervisors might be reassigned and parties may be thrown out

During a union-organizing campaign, business leaders will naturally come to HR for guidance. They need a firm understanding of the basic communication expectations.

Before a campaign launches in your workplace, train managers about what they can and cannot say to employees and use role-playing techniques, which will help them get through what may be difficult interactions.

In the moment, leaders are going to want to respond to questions from their employees and must be prepared to educate employees with the relevant facts, to include the company’s position relative to unions. Leaders should be empowered to answer all questions but also need to know the types of things they can and cannot say.

HR professionals can train leaders with the simple “TIPS” and “FOE” rules—acronyms that make it easy for managers to remember. Prior role-playing with HR and having an actual list of company talking points will make it easier for managers to comfortably address questions during a campaign

First, consider what a manager cannot say during a campaign: TIPS.

T = Threats

Threats or coercion are prohibited.

Examples of threats include: telling employees that the company will close a work location or a plant if employees vote for union representation, disciplining an individual or terminating employment because an employee supports the union, or making statements about discontinuing benefits or reducing pay if the union is voted in.

I = Interrogation

It is illegal to ask employees about their support of the union or to ask about the alignment of their peers relative to union support.

Examples of interrogation include: asking employees to give the names of those who attended an organizing meeting, polling employees to see who is a company supporter and who is a union supporter, asking employees if they (or others) have signed an authorization card or how they (or others) will vote, and seeking grievances from employees during the campaign.

P = Promises

A business cannot interfere in the organizing efforts by assuring employees that the company will make things better for them if they just keep the union out. This is just as illegal as making threats.

Examples of promises include: agreeing to address grievances during the campaign, offering pay increases or better benefits, or promising promotions or special treatment to employees for supporting the company instead of the union.

S = Surveillance

Even the appearance of spying should be avoided.

Examples of surveillance include: taking pictures of employees going into a union meeting, telling employees that others have said that they are union supporters, or listening in on employee conversations and taking notes. Management should never attend a union meeting, even if you are invited!

FOE

Keep the following acronym in mind for the kinds of things a manager can say during a campaign: FOE.

F = Facts

Encourage managers to share the facts regarding the union and help set expectations relative to the organizing process.

Examples of facts include: let the employees know about what the company can legally do and what the union can legally do during a campaign and in bargaining, or what to expect relative to how the contract negotiation process takes place if the union should win the election. Share specifics directly from the National Labor Relations Act and from reputable websites. Share words from the union and your own company’s position. Talk about representation statistics (unions represent less than 7 percent of the private-sector workforce today) and bargaining information. Let employees know that if they join a union they will pay dues, which can often add up to the equivalent of several hours of pay—or more—each month.

O = Opinions

Share your own personal beliefs of why you feel a union is bad for the employees, making sure your message is aligned with TIPS and your company’s position.

Examples of opinions include: Let employees know that the decision to be represented by a union is their choice but that in your opinion, you prefer to work directly with employees to resolve concerns. Note that the company has a track record of addressing employee concerns directly and then share an example. Share stories of your own experience or that of someone else who saw firsthand the division between employees and management when the workforce was represented by a union. Say you are concerned that a union could cause a loss of personal communication due to union members having to go through a union steward.

E = Examples

Share specific examples of situations that involve union organizing and contract negotiations.

Examples of situations include: sharing YouTube videos that unions post showing outrageous behavior on the picket line, specifics of promises made during campaigns at other companies versus contracts that unions have negotiated, information about strikes and fines to employees who cross picket lines, and stories about union corruption. Also share examples of positive actions that your worksite has experienced as a result of the employer and employees working directly with each other.

Lowe's antiunion video 27:36 min

Please click on the video which is Lowe's union busting video. You don’t have to watch the entire video, please start from 27 mins 36 seconds and stop at 49 mins and 49 seconds.

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2. Employer restrictions on employees and union organizers

The employer can use its private property rights to prohibit outside organizations from entering the workplace and interacting with workers.

Union organizers can be banned from shopping mall parking lots

Employees can discuss unionization in the workplace, but such conversations can be restricted to nonwork hours.

Employer Campaigning

The employer can use its private property rights to prohibit outside organizations from entering the workplace and interacting with workers.

As long as these rules are equally enforced for all types of outside organizations, union organizers can be denied access to employees in the workplace, except in extreme circumstances when unions have no other access to employees (such as in remote mining camps) Outside union organizers can even be banned from shopping mall parking lots.

Employees can discuss unionization in the workplace, but such conversations can be restricted to nonwork hours, and if they interfere with production or customers, to nonwork locations such as an employee cafeteria.

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2. Employer restrictions on employees and union organizers

Salting - Paid union organizers try to get hired as regular employees to organize workers

The Supreme Court has decided that salts are employees under the NLRA and therefore protected against discrimination in hiring and firing.

Restrictions on both employees and nonemployee union organizers must be equally enforced.

Employer Campaigning

Some unions, especially in the construction industry, have tried a tactic called salting in which paid union organizers try to get hired as regular employees (and therefore “salt” or enrich the workplace) for the purpose of organizing the workers.

In a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court has decided that salts are employees under the NLRA and therefore protected against discrimination in hiring and firing. However, to be protected, a salt must have a genuine interest in working for the employer.

Restrictions on both employees and nonemployee union organizers must be equally enforced.

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2. Employer restrictions on employees and union organizers

Employees do not have a statutory right to use their employer’s equipment for union organizing or other Section 7 rights.

Employers can distinguish between various types of e-mail solicitations

Allowing antiunion e-mail messages while banning pro-union messages is discriminatory and is therefore prohibited by the NLRA.

Employer Campaigning

Currently the sharpest debates are over company policies that restrict employees’ use of company e-mail systems; it is well established in labor law that employees do not have a statutory right to use their employer’s equipment for union organizing or other Section 7 rights.

In a controversial 2007 decision, the Bush-appointed NLRB ruled that employers can distinguish between various types of e-mail solicitations; under this ruling, employers are not viewed as discriminatory if they allow charitable and personal e-mail solicitations but not solicitations for noncharitable organizations, such as labor unions, as long as the policy is not motivated by antiunion reasons.

Allowing antiunion e-mail messages while banning pro-union messages is discriminatory and is therefore prohibited by the NLRA.

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3. Union avoidance consultants

Consultants can help managers take advantage of tactics and train supervisors in union avoidance

Employer Campaigning

The use of outside union avoidance consultants and lawyers is a prominent component of employers’ campaigns.

Consultants can help managers take advantage of tactics such as captive audience meetings and train supervisors in union avoidance methods.

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3. Union avoidance consultants

Unions view union avoidance consultants as another element of a deck stacked in favor of employers who can

hold captive audience meetings,

ban union organizers from the workplace, restrict employee use of e-mail, and

hire expensive consultants to lead sophisticated communications and

public relations campaigns.

Employer Campaigning

Unions view union avoidance consultants as another element of a deck stacked in favor of employers who can hold captive audience meetings, ban union organizers from the workplace, restrict employee use of e-mail, and hire expensive consultants to lead sophisticated communications and public relations campaigns.

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3. Union avoidance consultants

Union avoidance consultants aggressively seek to break unions by resorting to any means necessary

Lies, Threats, Promises, Manipulation, Harassment, Espionage, Abuse, Firings

Employer Campaigning

Some union avoidance consultants aggressively seek to break unions by resorting to almost any means necessary, which may include the following:

Lies

Threats

Promises

Manipulation

Harassment

Espionage

Abuse

Firings

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3. Union avoidance consultants

With the help of attorneys and consultants, an employer can slow down the election time line and delay the election date

Employer Campaigning

With the help of attorneys and consultants, another employer tactic is delay; by challenging the proposed bargaining unit definition in an election petition, an employer can slow down the election time line and delay the election date for a couple of months or more.

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3. Union avoidance consultants

Delay is a significant tactic in favor of the employer because of the following reasons:

The employer gains more time to campaign against the union

Employee turnover may result in the loss of union supporters

Perceptions of union instrumentality might be weakened as the union appears helpless to counter the employer’s legal maneuverings

Critical union momentum is lost

Employer Campaigning

Delay is a significant tactic in favor of the employer because of the following reasons:

The employer gains more time to campaign against the union

Employee turnover may result in the loss of union supporters

Perceptions of union instrumentality might be weakened as the union appears helpless to counter the employer’s legal maneuverings

Critical union momentum is lost

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Unions can campaign to influence voting decisions in NLRB representation elections

Labor law tries to balance the rights of employers and unions during the organizing process

Unions need to make more important decisions than employers

Communicating with employees

Unions promise that they will try to win gains for the employees

Union Campaigning

Like employers, union can campaign to influence the four key determinants of individual voting decisions in NLRB representation elections.

Labor law tries to balance the rights of employers and unions during the organizing process, but because of employers’ power over their property and employees, the tactics available to each side differ.

From a behavioral and strategic rather than legal perspective, U.S. unions have not traditionally devoted extensive resources to campaign tactics.

Unions need to make more important decisions than employers. The organizing process, is the primary area of labor relations in which unions are the proactive rather than the reactive party.

Communicating with employees is essential

Unions promise that they will try to win gains for the employees

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Communicating with Employees

If union threats or harassment distort employee free choice, the election results can be invalidated and a new election held.

Unions have little to offer employees except promises that they will try to win gains for the employees

Union Campaigning

Communicating with Employees

If union threats or harassment distort employee free choice, the election results can be invalidated and a new election held.

Unions have little to offer employees except promises that they will try to win gains for the employees; one of the vexing problems for unions, however, is how to get this message to employees.

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Communicating with Employees

Excelsior list

Union Campaigning

Communicating with Employees

In lieu of workplace access, once a representation election is scheduled, a longstanding NLRB rule requires employers to give the union a list of names and addresses of the employees eligible to vote in the election. This is called an Excelsior list (named after the 1966 Excelsior Underwear decision) and must be provided within seven days of the NLRB scheduling an election.

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Communicating with Employees

Unions can then mail information to employees or visit them at home

Unlike employers, unions are allowed home visits to share information.

Union Campaigning

Unions can then mail information to employees or visit them at home Unlike employers, unions are allowed home visits to share information.

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Distributing flyers and letters through mailings and handballing

Developing personal relationships with workers such as house calls and small group meeting

Carrying out rallies and using workers as volunteer organizers

Union Campaigning Tactics

Union campaigning has traditionally focused on distribution of flyers and letters through mailings and handbilling; in both cases individual workers are passive recipients of information; there is no personal contact, and they are not actively involved in building their union. This passive Union Campaigning tactic is not effective.

Unions are increasingly supplementing these traditional tactics with new methods for developing personal relationships with workers—such as house calls and small group meetings

—and for getting workers actively involved in the campaign, such as rallies and using workers as volunteer organizers. These two Union Campaigning tactics are more effective than distributing flyers and letters through mailings and handballing

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Strategies to create worker activism

Developing personal relationships with workers such as house calls and small group meetings

Carrying out rallies and using workers as volunteer organizers

Passive campaign tactics like mailings and handbilling are consistent with the servicing model of union representation

Union Campaigning

Unions are increasingly supplementing these traditional tactics with new methods for developing personal relationships with workers—such as house calls and small group meetings—and for getting workers actively involved in the campaign, such as rallies and using workers as volunteer organizers.

More often than not, employer campaigning is more comprehensive, sophisticated, and aggressive (and expensive) than union campaigning.

Union organizing tactics are closely related to the type of message unions want to deliver. Passive campaign tactics like mailings and handbilling are consistent with the servicing model of union representation. In this model, problems are solved for the workers, not by the workers. The employer is portrayed in campaign literature as the enemy.

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Firing union supporters was made illegal

NLRB used a variety of methods to determine majority status

Authorization cards

Petitions

Union membership applications

Employee affidavits of membership

Strike participation

Employee testimony

The Certification Election Process

The union certification process established by the NLRA in 1935 was initially a great victory for workers wanting union representation.

Firing union supporters was made illegal; and rather than having to strike for recognition, workers could petition the NLRB for a democratic determination of whether a majority of workers favored unionizing.

In the first few years after 1935, the NLRB used a variety of methods to determine majority status:

1. Authorization cards

2. Petitions

3. Union membership applications

4. Employee affidavits of membership

5. Strike participation

6. Employee testimony

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The Taft–Hartley Act amendments in 1947

if “a question of representation exists, [the NLRB] shall direct an election by secret ballot” [Section 9(c)].

Later the Supreme Court ruled that an employer can request a secret ballot election, even if majority status as indicated by signed authorization cards is not in doubt.

The certification process has therefore changed from a quick procedure with minimal employer involvement to a formal and often lengthy election procedure with extensive employer participation, including not only campaigning but also legal challenges to proposed bargaining units and election results.

The Certification Election Process

The Taft–Hartley Act amendments in 1947, however, explicitly stated that if “a question of representation exists, [the NLRB] shall direct an election by secret ballot” [Section 9(c)].

Later the Supreme Court ruled that an employer can request a secret ballot election, even if majority status as indicated by signed authorization cards is not in doubt.

Early NLRB decisions excluded employers from participating in the certification process, but the Supreme Court and Section 8(c) of the Taft–Hartley Act explicitly authorize (noncoercive) employer participation in the process.

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Criticisms of the NLRA certification process

Criticism of unequal access

Unequal access to employees gives employers an unfair advantage

Lack of penalties for violators

Issues of a Gissel bargaining order

Requires the employer to recognize and bargain with the union even though the usual election results are lacking

In rare cases when the NLRB believes that the union had majority support but employer misconduct eroded election

The Certification Election Process

Criticisms of the NLRA Certification Process

Labor unions and their supporters frequently argue that employer resistance, including campaigning during representation elections, is primarily responsible for the extended decline in U.S. union density.

Following are the three aspects of the NLRA certification process most frequently criticized:

Unequal access to employees—employers can meet with employees informally, conduct captive audience meetings, enforce no solicitation rules against union organizers, and limit employee use of company e-mail while unions merely get a list of employee addresses after the election date is set; possibilities for reform include banning employer captive audience meetings, giving unions the right to hold captive audience meetings, requiring a certain number of campaign debates, or allowing unions to send e-mail messages using the company’s system, making Excelsior lists available at any time, or after a union collects 30 percent signed authorization cards, or to include employee e-mail addresses as part of the Excelsior list.

The lack of penalties for violators of the NLRA—when a company violates Section 8(a)(3) by illegally discharging a union supporter, the worst penalty the company faces is minor: offering reinstatement with full back pay to the employee. And the company can reduce the back pay award by the amount the employee has earned elsewhere since discharge. Many see this as an inadequate deterrent to violating the NLRA and propose reforming the NLRA to allow compensatory and punitive damage awards rather than allowing only back pay awards. With respect to elections, if the NLRB finds that laboratory conditions have been corrupted by employer, union, or third-party actions, the typical remedy is to throw out the election results and conduct a new election. In rare cases in which the NLRB believes that the union had majority support but extreme employer misconduct has eroded this support and has also been so pernicious as to make an election pointless, the NLRB can issue a Gissel bargaining order instead of trying to restore the conditions and conducting a new election. A Gissel bargaining order requires the employer to recognize and bargain with the union even though the usual election results are lacking.

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Three ways in which a union can win recognition

Voluntary recognition

An NLRB representation election

A bargaining order

Length of the election process

The Certification Election Process

As such, there are three ways in which a union can win recognition: voluntary recognition, an NLRB representation election, and a bargaining order.

The length of the election process— typically elections are not held until two months after the filing of the election petition, and employers’ legal maneuverings can lengthen this period, during which the worst violations can occur when the campaigning on both sides is the most intense.

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Organizing outside the NLRB certification process

Unions are explicitly trying to organize new workers outside the NLRB certification process

Unions organize by negotiating neutrality and card check agreements with employers

Concentrate on building organizations within workplaces

Signing up union members rather than on winning elections

The Certification Election Process

Organizing Outside the NLRB Certification Process

1. Unions are not waiting for labor law to be reformed and instead are explicitly trying to organize new workers outside the NLRB certification process.

2. Unions are trying to organize outside the NLRB by negotiating neutrality and card check agreements with employers in which employers agree to remain neutral in organizing drives and to recognize the union based on signed

authorization cards.

3. Workers outside the scope of the NLRA (or other legislation) must organize outside the NLRB; a notable example is agricultural workers.

4. The NLRA obligates employers to bargain with unions on a members-only basis when a union represents less than a majority of employees, therefore, another strategy for unions is to concentrate on building organizations within workplaces and signing up union members rather than on winning elections. The benefits that accrue to a small number of union members through members-only bargaining and representation can then build support among skeptical workers and perhaps others.

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Is the employee free choice act the answer?

Employee Free Choice Act would amend the NLRA in four significant ways:

The act would provide for card check recognition by specification

If labor and management are unable to reach agreement an arbitration panel would impose a two-year contract upon the parties

Penalties for violating the NLRA during an organizing drive would be strengthened by providing for treble damages

NLRB would be required to seek injunctive relief in the courts when employers commit unfair labor practices

The Certification Election Process

To remedy the perceived deficiencies in the NLRB certification election process, the labor movement is aggressively lobbying for the enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act

Is the employee free choice act the answer?

As introduced in Congress in March 2009, the Employee Free Choice Act would amend the NLRA in the four significant ways:

1. The act would provide for card check recognition by specifying, “If the [NLRB] finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the [NLRB] shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative.”

2. If labor and management are unable to reach agreement on a first contract after a new union is certified, an arbitration panel would impose a two-year contract upon the parties.

3. Penalties for violating the NLRA during an organizing drive or first contract campaign would be strengthened by providing for treble damages (three times an individual’s back pay award) for unlawful discrimination [8(a)(3) unfair labor practices] and civil penalties up to $20,000 [8(a)(1) and (3) unfair labor practices].

4. The NLRB would be required to seek injunctive relief in the courts when employers commit 8(a)(1) and (3) unfair labor practices during organizing drives and first contract campaigns.

The card check recognition part of the Employee Free Choice Act has received the most publicity.

Supporters argue that a card check recognition procedure is needed because employers have hijacked the election process through sophisticated and sometimes illegal campaigning, manufactured legal delays, and other tactics.

Card check recognition is seen as a way to avoid many of these problems because these tactics are particularly severe in the weeks that lead up to an election.

The Certification Election Process

The card check recognition part of the Employee Free Choice Act has received the most publicity.

Card check recognition is seen as a way to avoid many of these problems because these tactics are particularly severe in the weeks that lead up to an election.

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Criticisms against employee free choice act

Antidemocratic by depriving workers of the secret ballot vote

There is a risk that workers will sign cards simply to stop pro-union workers

By removing the election process, the employee free choice act is also portrayed as undermining informed employee decision making

The Certification Election Process

Following are some of the criticisms of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act:

It is characterized as antidemocratic by depriving workers of the secret ballot vote.

There is a risk that workers will sign cards simply to stop pro-union workers from pestering or threatening them, though survey evidence does not support this contention.

By removing the election process, the Employee Free Choice Act is also portrayed as undermining informed employee decision making by reducing employer campaigning opportunities.

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Successfully obtaining union recognition does not guarantee that a union contract will be achieved.

The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 and remains organized labor’s top legislative priority.

The House of Representatives passed the bill in 2007, but with poor prospects of passage in the Senate and the threat of a veto by President Bush, it did not progress further.

The Certification Election Process

Although it has not received as much public attention, the proposal for first contract arbitration is also important. Successfully obtaining union recognition does not guarantee that a union contract will be achieved.

The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 and remains organized labor’s top legislative priority

The House of Representatives passed the bill in 2007, but with poor prospects of passage in the Senate and the threat of a veto by President Bush, it did not progress further.

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In 2010, four states passed constitutional amendments guaranteeing a secret ballot on union recognition: Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.

This was due in part to the efforts of the organization Save Our Secret Ballot.

All of these are "Right-to-Work" where employees would not have to join the union anyway.

The Certification Election Process

The labor movement campaigned hard for Barack Obama during the presidential election of 2008, and hopes to be rewarded by President Obama’s support for the act. It was therefore reintroduced in Congress in March 2009, and as of this writing in mid-2009, it was pending further legislative action.

Whether in its original or a modified form, enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act would represent the most significant revision to the NLRA in over 60 years, and it would likely make it easier for workers to successfully form unions and bargain collectively with their employers. But there would still be outstanding issues, such as unequal access to employees during organizing drives and the ability of unions to craft representational strategies that give workers what they want.

In 2010, four states passed constitutional amendments guaranteeing a secret ballot on union recognition: Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.

This was due in part to the efforts of the organization Save Our Secret Ballot.

All of these are "Right-to-Work" where employees would not have to join the union anyway.

Solidarity Forever

Lastly, let’s learn the union anthem, "Solidarity Forever", written by Ralph Chaplin in 1915, is a popular trade union anthem. ". Although it was written as a song for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), other union movements, such as the AFL-CIO, have adopted the song as their own. Please click on the video and sing the union anthem: solidarity forever.

We have come to the end of our lecture today. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

See you next class!