Nothing “Free” About the Employee Free Choice Act

Organized labor, along with the vast majority of Democrats in Congress, have made the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or “card check”, a top priority and are persuading candidates to pledge their support. This legislation would give organized labor an unfair advantage in union organizing at the expense of both employees and employers.

·                      The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, or “card check,” would strip away the right of 140 million U.S. workers to a federally supervised private-ballot election when deciding whether or not to unionize. 

·                      Under the proposed card check system, union organizers would only have to gather signed authorization cards from a majority of the workers to claim union representation. Without the private ballot, workers who were intimidated or coerced into signing authorization cards would not have the ability to change their vote in private. The workers’ votes are made public to the employer, union organizers and coworkers. There is no private-ballot election. There is no free choice. 

·                      All workers, in every industry, deserve the fundamental American right to a federally supervised private-ballot election.  This right is guaranteed when they vote in political elections; there is no reason why they should surrender this right in the workplace.