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Card Check
 April
1, 2009
Action Needed: Protect
Secret Ballot Elections for Long Beach Workers
 Two
Federal proposed laws, H.R. 1409 and S. 560, would undermine
long standing principles of workplace democracy and fairness and
result in employees having less ability to determine if they
wish to be represented by a union. It does so by allowing unions
to collect employee signatures in public-or so-called "card
check"-and do away with the secret ballot process.
While both proposals are being promoted by organized labor as
labor law reform to level the playing field, it does not
represent "reform" in any sense of the word. Rather, the
legislation will radically restructure 60 years of carefully
crafted labor law balances that have served both unions and
employers well for many decades.
Click here to submit your letter of opposition!
Strictly Business
| March 10, 2009
Less Choice, More Intimidation
Across
Long Beach, families are facing tough decisions every day as
they struggle to make ends meet despite fewer and fewer
available jobs. Long Beach’s workforce needs opportunity, not
restriction.
So, it is obvious that this morning's introduction of the
so-called "Employee Free Choice Act" in both houses of Congress
is misguided and poorly timed.
The "Employee Free Choice Act" would allow the voting process to
be made public as employees decide whether or not to unionize.
The misguiding title of this legislation would suggest that Long
Beach’s workforce will be empowered by this Act, but it is labor
unions that will benefit most. By eliminating the current secret
ballot process and therefore making votes public, unions will be
able to single out and intimidate employees, unfairly
influencing their votes and compromising the democratic process.
This hardly sounds like Free Choice.
The Act does not provide any protection for employees
whatsoever. Rather, it strips rights away from those very
employees and makes them susceptible to pressure and
intimidation from big labor unions. Unions have enjoyed
increased power but have lost influence. So it is
counter-productive to continue catering to them. What the
employee needs is not increased union muscle for their
strong-arm tactics. The employee needs freedom to make up their
own mind without fear of public exposure or ensuing retaliation.
This Act is another federal attempt to impose beliefs on our
labor force.
Furthermore, the timing of this bill is very poor. The American
worker is hurting, and Long Beach has become a example for job
loss. The City’s unemployment rate recently exceeded 12%, higher
than the state and nationwide averages. There will be no
employees to protect if businesses cannot afford to pay them.
Our government is taking the wrong side and fighting the wrong
fight. Unions pressure employees for their vote, then charge
them dues in a struggling economy; and the "Employee Free Choice
Act" will only give them more leverage. Instead of focusing on
stripping Long Beach’s workforce of its rights, we must focus on
strengthening our local business community so that employees may
remain employed.
The Federal Government needs to stop the bleeding, not open the
wound. The "Employee Freedom Choice Act" only shows that they
are out of touch with the needs of today’s worker, and the
average Long Beach employee will in no way benefit from their
interference. Unfortunately, it seems that hard-working
Americans are the ones who will suffer for the Federal
Government’s oversight.
I can assure you that the Long Beach Chamber will do everything
possible to stop this Act from passing...
...and that's Strictly Business.
Randy Gordon
President and CEO
September 23, 2008
Chamber Fights to Keep Democratic
Process in Workplace
By
Randy Gordon, President and CEO, Long Beach Chamber
One
of America’s greatest electoral practices is the secret ballot
vote. Each person, free from the influences of outside
interests, when in a polling booth can vote without anyone
knowing their choice. This has been how this country does
business since its inception. These same rules apply in many
meetings and elections that take place in the private sector,
including how union organizing is done.
Currently, if employees wish to unionize, a secret ballot vote
can be arranged and conducted by the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB) or its state equivalent. This gives both sides the
opportunity to influence the labor force on whether or not
unionization would be the best for them. Then the individual
employees vote in a secret ballot session. If a majority wishes
to unionize, they become a union and start collective bargaining
procedures. If a majority does not wish to unionize, they stay
non-unionized.
Sounds fair, right?
Well two pieces of legislation threatens to change this.
California’s AB 2386 (Nunez, D-Los Angeles) and Congressional
bill “Employee Free Choice Act” (which is a misnomer) or EFCA
are currently circulating in their respective legislatures. Both
of these would change current labor laws to allow for a process
known as “card checks” for unionization.
This method would allow union organizers the option of sending
out “support cards” that the workforce simply has to sign saying
they wish to unionize. If a majority sends it back to the NLRB,
then they will automatically become a union.
The problem with this method is that these organizers have been
known to intimidate, harass, and bother individuals until they
sign off on his card. The pressure is often times relentless and
employees do not have the freedom of a secret vote.
The Long Beach Chamber stands ready to defend the rights of
employees to have a secret ballot vote on whether or not they
wish to unionize. We officially oppose AB 2386 and are working
with the United States Chamber of Commerce to help fight the “EFCA”.
In the coming weeks, we will be launching a letter-writing
campaign to prevent AB 2386’s passage. However, on a federal
level, we need your help. We need you to contact your local
congressional and state legislators to let them know that card
checks is the wrong approach.
Recently, former United States Senator and Democratic
Presidential candidate George McGovern penned an articled in the
Wall Street Journal urging his party to move away from card
checks and that it goes against the democratic way of doing
things. If McGovern thinks that these policies are too extreme
for him, they probably are.
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