Hawaii Workers Win Majority Sign-Up

by Seth Michaels, Jul 16, 2009

Yesterday, the Hawaii State Legislature overrode the governor’s veto of a bill that gives thousands of workers the freedom to form unions without interference from their bosses. 

In a special session, the Hawaii House of Representatives and Senate overrode Gov. Linda Lingle’s veto of House Bill 952, which gives workers the freedom to choose unions through majority sign-up. The bill had passed the House by a 38-10 margin and the Senate on a 20-5 vote, both on May 5. 

In addition to the majority sign-up provision, the bill allows for first-contract arbitration if a company and its workers cannot reach agreement after 110 days. 

According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the bill only applies to workers covered by state labor law, including agricultural workers, domestic workers, supervisors and independent contractors.

Most Hawaii workers are covered by the federal National Labor Relations Act, which allows companies to control the process for forming unions. If the Employee Free Choice Act becomes U.S. law, more of Hawaii’s workers, and workers around the country, would be able to choose majority sign-up to form a union and have access to first-contract arbitration. 

The majority sign-up process has been an effective and successful way for workers to form unions across the country, and a recent study of public-sector workers in four states—Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Oregon—shows that thousands of workers have benefited from being able to use majority sign-up without the coercion frequently alleged by corporate opponents.

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