Employee Free Choice Act

When workers are free to choose to join a union, our economy can work for everyone again. That’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act—a bill in Congress that would help level the playing field and give workers the freedom to choose a union.
The Employee Free Choice Act:

* Helps America’s working families improve their standard of living. Workers in unions earn 30 percent higher wages and are 59 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance.
* Fixes a broken system that gives corporations far too much power. When workers try and organize unions, they are often harassed and intimidated; 25 percent of companies unlawfully fire pro-union workers.
* Restores fairness and the promise of the American Dream, with a robust middle class, economic growth, and shared prosperity.

It’s time our economy worked for everyone again. It’s time for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Here's what the Employee Free Choice Act does do

It gives workers a choice between secret ballots and majority
sign-up.Once a majority of workers make it clear that they want a
union, they should get a union: employers should not be allowed to hijack the
process.

The Employee Free Choice Act also strengthens penalties against
employers who break the law. Too many unscrupulous employers get
away with breaking labor laws because the current penalties are too weak. The
Employee Free Choice Act would increase penalties against employers who
illegally fire or retaliate against pro-union workers during an organizing
campaign or an effort to obtain a first contract.

And the bill allows employers or employees to request mediation
if they’re unable to negotiate a first contract. Under current law,
anti-union employers often drag workers through lengthy negotiations by
delaying bargaining sessions, withholding relevant information, and putting
forth bogus proposals. Even though these tactics are illegal, there are no
effective deterrents to prevent “surface bargaining.” The Employee Free
Choice Act will strengthen workers’ ability to achieve a first contract
within a reasonable period of time.

Here's what the Employee Free Choice Act does not do

The Employee Free Choice Act makes no change to the current
union election process.It simply amends the law about majority
sign-up to put the choice of how to form a union in workers’ hands, not their bosses’.

The Employee Free Choice Act does not create a "new approach"
to forming unions. Majority sign-up has existed since at least
1935, and major corporations like AT&T recognize majority-signup as
a completely legitimate way to determine the will of its workforce.

The Employee Free Choice Act does not make workers more
susceptible to coercion. In fact, it reduces coercion substantially.
Workers in "secret ballot" elections are twice as likely (46 percent vs.
23 percent) as those in majority sign-up campaigns to report that management
coerced them to oppose a union. But only 4.6 percent of workers who signed
a card with a union organizer – fewer than one in 20 – reported that the
presence of a union organizer made them feel pressured to sign the card.