| Employee Free Choice Act |
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Why do we need new federal legislation to reform America’s labor
laws?
Every day, corporations deny employees the freedom to decide for
themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life. People
are routinely intimidated, harassed, and even fired for trying to
organize unions. Workers are fired in one-quarter of private-sector
union organizing campaigns; 78% of private employers require supervisors
to deliver anti-union messages to the workers whose jobs and pay they
control; and even after workers successfully form a union, 44% of the
time they are not able to get a contract. |
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Workers freedom to form unions is good for economic growth and
shared prosperity.
Increasing the number of union members would put more money in
workers pockets and reverse the growth in income inequality. Giving
workers more purchasing power could help end the current recession and
begin getting our economy growing again. In addition, union members are
52% more likely to have guaranteed pensions and earn 28% more than
nonunion workers. |
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Majority sign-up is not a new approach. It is a long-established
way to form a union, dating back to the passage of the National Labor
Relations Act.
It is used today by major employers, such as AT&T and
Harley-Davidson, as an important part of their successful high-road
business plans. But currently, the choice of whether to allow majority
sign-up belongs to the company, not the workers. And most companies
reject the method, forcing employees to use the failed election process. |
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The Employee Free Choice Act does three things to level the
playing field for employees and employers:
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1. Strengthens penalties for companies that illegally coerce or
intimidate employees in an
effort to prevent them from forming a union;
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2. Brings in a neutral third party to settle a contract when a
company and a newly certified
union cannot agree on a contract after three months;
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3. Lets employees decide how to express their choice to organize,
either by balloting or by
majority sign-up, meaning that if a majority of employees sign union
authorization cards,
validated by the National Labor Relations Board, a company must
recognize the union.
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| Boilermakers’ Message to Senators and Representatives: Please
co-sponsor and vote for the Employee Free Choice Act to restore workers’
freedom to bargain with their employers for secure jobs, health care and
retirement benefits and fair pay. |
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| Back to Politics Page |
| Information provided by:
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers · Department of Government
Affairs 703-560-1493 office ·
www.boilermakers.org |
