NEW LAW WOULD AUTHORIZE GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF 4 MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES

National Center for Policy Analysis ^ | March 13, 2009 | National Center for Policy Analysis

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA, H.R. 1409, S. 560) does more than take away secret ballot elections: It empowers the federal government to impose contracts on newly organized companies. The government would set wages, benefits, work assignments, promotion procedures, and any major changes to business operations. Because EFCA has no meaningful small businesses exemption, it would authorize federal control of up to 4 million small businesses employing 39 million Americans.

Consequently, bureaucrats with no management experience would effectively control these small businesses, says James Sherk, the Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act affects both large and small businesses, says Sherk:

• The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has a small business exception, however, this exemption has not been updated for inflation since 1959.
• It covers all non-retail businesses with gross revenues of $50,000 a year and retail businesses with gross revenues over $500,000 a year.
• To put those figures into perspective, the average private-sector worker costs his or her employer $56,000 a year in wages and benefits--before the cost of any capital needed to do the job.
• A business with one worker earning average pay would not qualify, consequently, the law has no meaningful small businesses exemption.

The Heritage Foundation used Census Bureau data to calculate how many small businesses EFCA would affect: The act covers 4,180,000 businesses employing 38,934,000 workers.

EFCA takes away these workers' right to a secret ballot vote on joining a union -- a consequence that has attracted considerable controversy, says Sherk. However, the bill has a second provision of equal if not greater significance to small businesses that has attracted much less attention: EFCA replaces collective bargaining with government-imposed contracts for newly organized companies. In practice:

• EFCA will effectively eliminate collective bargaining for initial contracts because the system provides no reason for unions not to hold out for a government contract.
• Unions would have strong incentives to make extreme demands and hope the FMCS appointed arbitrator splits the difference between these demands and management's position.

Granting such a radical amount of power to the FMCS puts control of workplaces in the hands of unaccountable government bureaucrats, says Sherk.

Source: James Sherk, "EFCA Authorizes Government Control of 4 Million Small Businesses," Heritage Foundation, WebMemo #2341, March 12, 2009.

For text:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Labor/wm2341.cfm

For more on Unions:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=43

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[beethovenfan]

The inmates are running the asylum.

[Redleg Duke]

Well, that will take care of those pesky small businesses that keep getting in the way of an economic melt-down!

[Hoodat]

When do they begin forcing businesses to build Volkswagens - for the people of course?

[CarmichaelPatriot]

If I were a small or medium sized business owner, as soon as my employees started any kind of unionization effort, I’d shut the business down and sell off the assets.

Imagine their surprise when they come in some Monday morning, expecting to make 5 times minimum wage only to find they’re out of a job.

I’d leave a big sign up for them that says “How’s that whole union thing working out for you?”

[Lucky9teen]

NEW LAW WOULD AUTHORIZE GOVERNMENT CONTROL SHUT DOWN OF 4 MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES

There...fixed it

[CaptainAmiigaf]

I read about this 40 years ago. It was in a book titled ATLAS SHRUGGED. The government will only control small business IF A SMALL BUSINESS EXISTS AT ALL. When arrogant bureaucrats and/or greedy unions pile on that LAST STRAW on business, it no longer is worth the effort. At that point business CEASES to exist.
Do you think there is a jobless problem NOW? Wait until the job creator decides “The hell with it”.
What did John Galt do?

[Never on my watch]

WTF is happening to our country?

Everyone of these dangerous beltway initiatives makes me grieve even more for the poor souls that fell on Normandy and everywhere else.

They gave all to fight back evil and preserve our freedom. And those fools in Washington are just throwing it all away.

[stockpirate]

ping

[swain_forkbeard]

“The inmates are running the asylum.”

No. The socialists are running the country.

No. The socialists are ruining the country.

Did I get it right yet?

[Red6]

Quick, quick, let's pass a law immediately and not read what it says, understand what the implications are......... DO IT NOW OR ELSE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND BUSH'S ECONOMY WILL CAUSE THE WORLD TO END!!!!!!!!!

neither the public, media or even the law makers have even had time to look over and really understand what is in these laws. But they sounded good at the time, sort of like our President, who sounds and looks good.

[coffee260]

Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) for Dumbies

I’ve noticed whenever someone debates the merits of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and card check they get bogged down in minutia. So I’ve come up with the easiest way to explain what it is.

You have 2 candidates, the UNIONS and the EMPLOYERS. They both are campaigning for the workers vote. The UNIONS want them to vote YES to unionize and EMPLOYERS wants them to vote NO against unionization. After campaigning for their vote, both go back to their respective corners while the EMPLOYEE decides which candidate they will side with, the UNIONS or the EMPLOYERS. Come “election day,” the EMPLOYEE goes to the “polls” to cast their vote. They enter a PRIVATE BOOTH and pull the lever of their choice, either for or against unionization. What the EFCA will eliminate is the PRIVATE BOOTH in which the EMPLOYEE votes. No longer will the UNIONS have to campaign up until “election day.” All they will have to do is walk up to every EMPLOYEE, where ever they may be, and get them to vote YES or NO. IT would be like Barack Obama or John McCain going around to every person in America and handing them a ballot and telling them to vote for them right there on the spot while they watch.

And that explains the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) for Dumbies

[RC2]

Communism at its best. The USSR did exactly the same thing. They told you were you could work, determined how much you could earn, where you could live and controlled how much food you could have, if you could own a car, if you could go on a vacation and where you could go and how long you could stay. Welcome to the USSA.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

The end goal of communism is to have all the means of production in the hands of government. Obama is trying to move the country to that situation as soon as possible.

[expatpat]

I guess the thing to do is have a number of (very) small businesses. As soon as your retail business gets to $500,000, split it into 2 businesses operating at the same address.

[detective]

The Democrats are destroying our economy. They are running up trillions of dollars in debt and destroying the productive sector of the economy. If this continues America will become a deindustrialized third world dictatorship.

[Myrddin]

All they will have to do is walk up to every EMPLOYEE, where ever they may be, and get them to vote YES or NO.

Of course, it will be yes on pain of death, dismemberment or whatever the union thug thinks is the right inducement at the time.

[beethovenfan]

Socialists = inmates (mentally ill).

[mojitojoe]

I would shut it down first.