Julie Martinez Ortega, JD PhD Research Director

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Julie Martinez Ortega, JD PhD Research Director

• EARN Conference 12/9/08

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An Election in Name Only
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• 60 million non-union workers say they would join
  a union if they could, yet only 16 million
  workers belong to unions
• The greatest achievement is not having an NLRB
  election at all. - an anti-union consultant

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Workers Avoid the Board Process

• 1996 to 2007 41 drop in election petitions
  filed with NLRB.
• Over 1/2 million workers have organized through
  majority sign-up.
• There are now 22 laws in 12 states that grant
  certain public and private employees the right to
  form unions through the majority sign-up process.

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The Employee Free Choice Act

• Allows workers to choose how they will determine
  majority status NLRB election process or-
  NLRB certified Majority Sign Up process
• Majority Sign Up
• 51 minimum (majority)
• NLRB validates signatures
• NLRB creates model language

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NLRA A Law Without Real Consequences

• 1 in 5 employers fires a union activist
• 30 of employers illegally fire pro-union workers
• 49 of employers threaten to close or relocate a
  worksite if workers support the union
• There are no penalties for breaking NLRA, only
  compensation for lost pay. Some executives refer
  to the paltry costs of breaking the law as a
  hunting license. (Average back pay award 4,026
  in 2006)

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The Employee Free Choice Act

• Amends the National Labor Relations Act as
  follows
• Increase damages when employers illegally fire
  or retaliate against workers during an organizing
  campaign and first contract negotiations (three
  times the current amount).
• Allow for civil penalties up to 20,000 for
  violations of NLRA during organizing and first
  contract negotiations.
• Require the NLRB to seek injunctive relief when
  it has reasonable cause to believe an employer
  violated its employees rights (currently only
  available on behalf of management).

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Contract Negotiations

• Only one in seven organizing efforts survives
  from filing an NLRB election petition through
  negotiating a first contract within the first
  year of certification.
• Only 38 of unions certified through the NLRB
  election process sign a first contract within one
  year of bargaining, and only 56 within two
  years.
• Contrast Canada, where workers who form unions
  sign a contract 92 of the time (several
  provinces require arbitration if the parties
  cannot come to an agreement).

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The Employee Free Choice Act

• Amends the National Labor Relations Act as
  follows
• Require parties to begin bargaining within 10
  days of a request to bargain by a NLRB certified
  union.
• Enable labor, management or both to request
  mediation by the Federal Mediation and
  Conciliation Service (FMCS), at the partys
  discretion, if they are unable to negotiate a
  contract after a minimum of 90 days of
  bargaining.
• After a minimum of 30 days of FMCS mediation,
  either labor, management, or both may request
  that the FMCS refer the matter to an arbitration
  board. The arbitration board can resolve the
  dispute and the decision would be binding for two
  years, unless the parties mutually agree to
  change those terms.

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Broadening the We
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Status in Congress

• Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced
  twice in the past and most recently in the 110th
  Congress as H.R. 800 by Rep. George Miller
  (D-CA) and S. 1041 by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
• Mar. 1, 2007 - H.R. 800 passed the House by a
  241-185 vote.
• June 26, 2007 - A motion fell nine votes short
  (51-48) of invoking cloture to cut off the
  Republican filibuster on S. 1041.

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• I've fought to pass the Employee Free Choice Act
  in the Senate. And I will make it the law of the
  land when I'm President of the United States of
  America
• Barack Obama
• (Philadelphia, 4/2/08)

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Politico The HillRoll Call National
JournalMonday, Dec. 8th
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Our Message
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Our Message
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Our Message
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www.americanrightsatwork.orgwww.freechoiceact.or
g
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Decoupling of Wages and Productivity as Union
Density Declined
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Benefits of Strong Unions

• Unions raise wages of unionized workers by
  roughly 20.
• Unions raise compensation, including both wages
  and benefits, by about 28.
• Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion
  employers follow. A high school graduate whose
  workplace is not unionized but whose industry is
  25 unionized is paid 5 more than similar
  workers in less unionized industries.
• Unions increase civic participation. In 2000,
  unions increased political participation among
  non-wealthy, less-educated people who have
  lower-than-average voter turnout.

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Legal but intimidating tactics used by employers

• Predict that voting for a union will result in
  the employees losing their jobs.
• Tell employees that unions are linked to
  workplace violence, and then hire a security
  guard to patrol the workplace with a 100-pound
  Rottweiler, despite no actual security problem.
• Tell employees how a hypothetical employer can
  legally thwart its obligations to bargain in good
  faith by stalling negotiations with a union and
  not really agreeing to anything.
• Interrogate employees to find out whether or not
  they want union representation.
• Fire employees for discretely leaving captive
  audience meetings.
• Ban pro-union employees from attending captive
  audience meetings.
• Prohibit employees from discussing union
  organizing with their co-workers during work
  hours and in work areas.
• Eavesdrop on employees off-duty conversations
  about unions and interrupt their conversations to
  make anti-union remarks.