H.R. 1409  /  S. 560

 

BACKGROUND

 

The "Employee Free Choice Act" – also known as the Card Check bill – proposes to change how unions are allowed to organize U.S. workers. Big labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, SEIU and the Change to Win Coalition, spent heavily during the 2009 elections and are now pushing Congress to approve this law. Union membership has been declining – it is currently down to approximately 7.5 percent in the private sector – but union leadership sees this law as a way to reverse that trend.

 

Card Check legislation would enact the following changes in the way unions operate:

 

• ·      Card Check would effectively eliminate private voting.  Under existing law, workers vote for or against unionization in federally supervised private-ballot elections. Under Card Check, if more than 50 percent of workers at a facility sign a card, the government would be forced to certify the union. A private ballot election would be prohibited – even if workers wanted one.

 

• ·      Card Check could put government regulators in charge of private business decisions.  Once a union is certified, the business and union would have only 120 days to reach an agreement before the possibility of binding arbitration. This means a panel of government arbitrators, who may have no understanding of the business, could impose a two-year contract deciding all workplace terms – without a vote by the company or its employees.

 

• ·     Card Check would unfairly punish small- and medium-sized businesses.  Card Check would impose harsh new penalties on businesses – but not on unions – for violations during the union recognition process.

 

IMPLICATIONS FOR GOLF COURSE OWNERS & OPERATORS

 

While golf courses are not major employers of union labor, this proposed legislation does pose troubling implications for NGCOA members and other golf course owners and operators. The latitude the law would give to unions in terms of how they organize workers will certainly be an encouraging sign to unions that might want to penetrate the golf industry further.    

 

WHERE WE STAND

 

The NGCOA joins the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in strongly opposing this legislation for the following reasons:

 

• ·     By forcing workers to sign a card in public – instead of the freedom to vote in private – Card Check opens the door to intimidation and coercion. In a recent poll of more than 1,000 registered voters conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than 70 percent of voters said they favored private elections over the Card Check system.

 

• ·     By placing government regulators in charge of a two-year decision, business flexibility is limited at a time when businesses need a positive, flexible environment to pull out of the recession. More than 75 percent of voters (in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll referenced above) believe government arbitrators should not decide the conditions of a union contract.

 

• ·     Imposing harsh penalties for businesses (but not unions) for violations during the recognition process is unfair. It is also potentially disastrous for small- and medium-sized businesses unfamiliar with unionizing campaigns or the National Labor Relations Act.

 

WHAT THE NGCOA IS DOING

 

The NGCOA is contacting the sponsors as well as vocal proponents of Card Check to explain our members’ position and encourage opposition to the bill. We also will work with NGCOA Chapters to ensure that they are aware of the issue and the Association’s position and offer assistance at the local/regional level.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

 

Urge your congressional representatives to vote against any form of the Employee Free Choice Act.

 

Click here to be directed to our Legislative Action Center, where you can quickly send a standard or custom email/letter directly to your representatives.

 

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

 

http://www.uschamber.com/wfi/cardcheckbasics.htm#secretballot

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_Free_Choice_Act

 

http://www.heritage.org/research/labor/wm1386.cfm

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/17/card-check-cut-from-emplo_n_237398.html

 

http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/

 

http://www.freechoiceact.org/petition/

 

http://www.seiu.org/employeefreechoice/

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