Chamber of Commerce Goes After Workers’ Rights. Again

by Tula Connell, May 8, 2006

There’s nothing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hates more than working people who want to have a say on the job.

Last week, the Chamber sent a letter to all Republicans on Capitol Hill urging them to support a bill (S. 1173, H.R. 874) that would make it illegal for employers to recognize or bargain with unions through a majority verification process, commonly called “card-check.” The letter, reported today in the Daily Labor Report (subscription required), is the latest move in a concerted campaign by Big Business and its lackeys to deny workers a voice on the job.

As usual with Republican extremists, members of the Chamber are making the legislation sound as if it will benefit workers—when the opposite is true.

Unions support the majority verification process because it enables workers to indicate their preference to join a union without fear of harassment or intimidation by employers. The alternative is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process.

Because an “election process” sounds so democratic, Big Business employers have had
an easy time framing their campaign—they just make unions look like they don’t support elections and therefore are anti-democratic.

But union members and those who try to form unions know what the Chamber and others won’t tell you: The NLRB process takes so long, is so tilted in favor of employers and has such weak remedies, it actually encourages managers to harass, intimidate and even fire employees. Some of these actions may be illegal—but try getting your job back or stopping the harassment and you face months or years of costly litigation to battle your employer. The NLRB isn’t much help here.

In fact, it is not uncommon for workers going through the NLRB election process to struggle 10 years or more before employers are forced to recognize the union and negotiate a contract.

So, in pressing for the legislation, Big Business would force workers to endure the lengthy and bureaucratic NLRB process because they know far fewer workers will join unions if they have to face years of NLRB plodding.

Meanwhile, Big Business’ purposely misnamed Union Facts PR mouthpiece has been putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into ad campaigns to make unions look as if they oppose the democratic election process. It’s no coincidence that our sources say a part of the $8 million anti-worker campaign is being funded by state Chambers. Run by Richard Berman, whose sleaze campaigns have included slamming Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry, the group refuses to reveal its sources of funding.

The timing also is no coincidence. The AFL-CIO union movement has been successful in signing up congressional co-sponsors of a bill in the House and Senate that would level the playing field when workers try to form a union. Two weeks ago, Republican Reps. Jim Gerlach (Pa.) and Chris Smith (N.J.) added their names to the list of co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act, bringing the number of co-sponsors to 215 in the U.S. House, three short of a majority. There are 42 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate.

The Employee Free Choice Act, reintroduced in April 2005 by a bipartisan coalition, would strengthen workers’ rights to choose representation by requiring employers to recognize a union after a majority of employees sign authorization cards. It also would provide for mediation and arbitration of first-contract disputes and authorize stronger penalties for violation of labor law when workers seek to form a union.

Looks like the Chamber & Co. are getting nervous.

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