Posted on 07/17/2009 7:20:21 AM PDT by reaganaut1
A half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision [card check] of a bill that would have made it easier to organize workers.
...
In its place, several Senate and labor officials said, the revised bill would require shorter unionization campaigns and faster elections.
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Though some details remain to be worked out, under the expected revisions, union elections would have to be held within five or 10 days after 30 percent of workers signed cards favoring having a union. Currently, the campaigns often run two months.
To further address labor’s concerns that the election process is tilted in favor of employers, key senators are considering several measures. One would require employers to give union organizers access to company property. Another would bar employers from requiring workers to attend anti-union sessions that labor supporters deride as “captive audience meetings.”
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While voicing confidence they have the 60 votes to pass the revised bill, labor leaders acknowledged an additional hurdle: two powerful Democrats, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, are seriously ill.
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Business leaders say the current system is fair, asserting that unions lose so many elections because workers oppose paying union dues and do not feel they need unions to represent them.
Corporate lobbyists have indicated they would oppose fast elections, arguing that such a provision would deny employers ample opportunity to educate employees about the downside of unionizing, such as strikes and union dues.
...
Business also opposes the bill’s provisions to have binding arbitration if an employer fails to reach a contract with a new union. Companies argue it would be wrong for government-designated arbitrators to dictate what a company’s wages and benefits should be.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Card check was never the end goal. It was always about the binding arbitration.
If my employees ever voted to unionize,
I’d lock the doors and shut ‘er down
for good. They’d get 30 days pay. I’d
move on to businesses that don’t require
employees with benefits.
I bet your employees love you. That being said, I'm 100% against the government or unions telling you that you have to provide benefits.
what is currently the card signing threshold for elections? isn't it higher than 30%?
is this really a victory?
They will slip it back in at the 11th hour, it’s not gone.
Why give them 30 days pay? When the voted to unionize, they voted to quit.
The reality is that this bill, in conjunction with cap & tax, will kill off the rump of manufacturing in the USA and turn us into a 3rd world country.
As your liberty should allow you to do so.
You have to love what it did to baseball players salaries.
Yep --
“I bet your employees love you.
They do. They are provided for in a great
work environment.
But, if they reject it through unionization,
I’m not willing to take large risks to live
with a union. I’ll simply move on. Future
businesses will use independent contractors
on a project basis.
I ain’t doing it.
ampu
Yep --
Absolutely. That's why they used their propaganda arm, the NY Slimes.
Card check was the red herring to distract us all, folks.
What they really want is the binding arbitration. That is where the money is and power/control by the unions over business through extortion.
Think unemployment is bad now? Wait to see what will happen if this Bill were to pass.
I can hear the giant sucking sound off in the distance.
“a bill that would have made it easier to organize workers.”
This is a lie. It would have made it LEGAL to FORCE workers into unions, wether they wanted it or not.
They say the current system is tilted towards employers, yet only 30% of the employees have to sign cards favoring a union to trigger a union election.
The lawyers are getting ready for Card Check:
“July 2009
Employee Free Choice Act Update
In an effort to help secure 60 votes (and avoid a filibuster in the Senate), some congressional supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) have proposed an alternate version of the Act that would drop the “card check” aspect of the bill and instead push for shorter election times (5 or 10 days)—sometimes referred to as “ambush elections.” If card check is eliminated from the EFCA, it is expected to substantially accelerate passage of the bill, as several key Democrats were reluctant to support the EFCA with the card check provision.
As you know, when the EFCA was introduced in the Senate (and passed in the House of Representatives), it had three parts:
· Card check;
· Mandatory arbitration for the first contract after union certification if a deal is not reached in 90 days; and
· Heightened penalties for unfair labor practices committed during an organizing campaign.
At this time, no new bill has been released, but it is expected that the latest version would include mandatory arbitration, heightened penalties for unfair labor practices and a new provision for shorter election times.
Under either version of the EFCA, union organizing efforts will increase dramatically. If you have not already developed your union avoidance strategy, we strongly urge you to do so now.”
aMorePerfectUnion is the EMPLOYER! He provides the capital that provides the jobs and he has a perfect right to define his workers duties and benefits. And he has the right to shut it down if they try to strong arm him into redefining his workers' benefits.
You completely missed my point. Any employer provides that, and it's his right to provide just that. I was remarking on his line, "I’d move on to businesses that don’t require employees with benefits," which (either incorrectly or correctly) to me seemed that he didn't see the value in providing benefits for his employees.
No one said he had to, in fact, I reinforced that at the end of my post. He rebutted by saying he provides his employees a great working environment - so I left it at that. But most successful businesses realize that their most important asset is their employees, which is why Southwest Airlines' philosophy is Employees first, customers second.
Let me repeat the end of my first post though: That being said, I'm 100% against the government or unions telling you that you have to provide benefits.
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