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Employee Free Choice: Minnesota’s Coleman Doesn’t Get It |
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| Minnesota union members ask Sen. Norm Colemen (R) to back the Employee Free Choice Act. Colemen parrots opponents’ false claims. | |
No matter how hard opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act try or how many times they read the legislation (H.R. 800 and S. 1041), they will never find anywhere in the bill anything that bans workers from voting on whether or not they want to join a union.
But that hasn’t stopped anti-worker groups from ginning up a propaganda machine that spreads distortions and lies about what the bill does. Diane O’Brien, Minnesota AFL-CIO communications director, sends us the latest example.
Union members intercepted Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman (R) as he headed for a speaking engagement at the Humphrey Institute on the University of Minnesota campus Monday. When the workers asked Sen. Coleman to support the Employee Free Choice Act, the senator said he could not support the proposed law, which would strengthen workers’ rights to form and join unions.
Minnesota AFL-CIO Mobilizing and Organizing Director Candace Lund said that Coleman’s stance is based on a “deliberate misunderstanding of the bill.” She explains that the law would allow workers to choose a secret-ballot election or a majority sign-up process when deciding on a union. Business groups—and Sen. Coleman—claim the bill would ban the elections. Not true.
Let’s review in easy-to-understand language so Coleman and others like him can’t be confused. Here are the three major aspects of the Employee Free Choice Act:
- It allows workers to choose union representation by signing union authorization cards. But if workers want an election, they can have an election.
- It provides mediation and arbitration for first contract disputes.
- It establishes stronger penalties for violation of workers’ rights when employees seek to form a union.
The Employee Free Choice Act was easy enough for 241 members (including several Republicans) of the House of Representatives to understand when they passed the bill in March. It’s easy enough to understand for the more three dozen local and state legislatures, councils and commissions that have passed resolutions supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Maybe if Coleman takes a closer look, it will be easy enough for him to understand. If you live in Minnesota, click here to help him learn. If you don’t, click here anyway and send a message to your U.S. senators.
2 Comments
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Come on! The fact of the matter is, if the so-called “EFCA” passes, and a union collects cards from 50.1% of workers in a “bargaining unit,” the union will get certified as the “exclusive” bargaining agent without an election, even if 10%, 30%, 60%, or 90% of the workers sign a petition objecting to certification without an election.
In such a case, workers won’t be able to file for a decertification election until years have passed.
The EFCA “allows” elections only when union officials find them convenient. Union PR on this point is extremely disingenuous.
Stan Greer, Newsletter Editor
National Right to Work Committee
I know we are fair minded people, but I cannot imagine WHY you allow anyone representing the National Right To Work (for less) Committee to have a voice on a worker blog. What people should know is that all over this country, millions of dollars are being spent by these organizations to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act; and they do not care if what they are telling people in radio commercials is true. There are these loopholes in our labor law that allows employers to intimidate, coerce, and yes, even fire employees who join a union; and even when they do win an election, to hold up bargaining in good faith, sometimes for years. I would imagine that Stan Greer thinks that is all right. Do these people know how many starving and homeless people could have a decent life if they spent these millions of dollars to help rather than hinder? Does Mr. Greer agree that it is a good thing for Congress to hold up a modest increase in minimum wage all these months? Finally, what is he even doing on the union web blog?