House Passes Bill to Raise Inflation, Unemployment
The bill I'm talking about, of course, is the "The Employee Free Choice Act", better known as the card check bill.
Under current labor law, if 30% or more of employees sign cards signifying a desire to join a union, employers may either recognize the union, or ask for a secret ballot on unionizing. Unfortunately for labor organizers, the vote generally comes out under 50%, and the union loses the ballot.
There is good reason for this, union's only tell one side of the story to employees when they are trying to organize them. Basically they promise them the "free lunch" theory. You'll get hire wages, better overtime, more benefits.
What they don't tell them is that companies have to make up that cost somewhere, and it generally comes in the form of layoffs of enough workers to make up the difference in costs.
They also let the workers know that seniority, not performance, will now determine your pay. So that 20 year guy that does as little as possible to stay out of trouble won't have to worry about a layoff, but the 3 year guy working his ass off will probably get cut when the time comes. Sorry, that's how union shops work.
For a great look at union's effects on workplaces, just look at how the Big 3, all UAW represented, are shedding workers, while Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and BMW, with non-union workplaces are adding them in the US.
The retail sector, with Wal-Mart and Target as two huge employers is one of the main targets of labor organizers in getting this bill through Congress. They see millions of potenial dues payers to their causes that they haven't been able to get organized by ballot. Card Check organizing of course allows them to either intimidate, or lie to employees about the paradise that is the union shop.
Before folks guffaw at the above paragraph, remember that a Democratic President and Congress passed the current labor law in the 1930's because of such union intimidation of employees who resisted organized labor.
Luckily enough Senators have promised a filibuster to keep it from getting through that chamber, and the President has promised a veto if it does make it to his desk.
Technorati Tags: Labor, Unions, Congress, Card Check, Veto, Filibuster
Under current labor law, if 30% or more of employees sign cards signifying a desire to join a union, employers may either recognize the union, or ask for a secret ballot on unionizing. Unfortunately for labor organizers, the vote generally comes out under 50%, and the union loses the ballot.
There is good reason for this, union's only tell one side of the story to employees when they are trying to organize them. Basically they promise them the "free lunch" theory. You'll get hire wages, better overtime, more benefits.
What they don't tell them is that companies have to make up that cost somewhere, and it generally comes in the form of layoffs of enough workers to make up the difference in costs.
They also let the workers know that seniority, not performance, will now determine your pay. So that 20 year guy that does as little as possible to stay out of trouble won't have to worry about a layoff, but the 3 year guy working his ass off will probably get cut when the time comes. Sorry, that's how union shops work.
For a great look at union's effects on workplaces, just look at how the Big 3, all UAW represented, are shedding workers, while Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and BMW, with non-union workplaces are adding them in the US.
The retail sector, with Wal-Mart and Target as two huge employers is one of the main targets of labor organizers in getting this bill through Congress. They see millions of potenial dues payers to their causes that they haven't been able to get organized by ballot. Card Check organizing of course allows them to either intimidate, or lie to employees about the paradise that is the union shop.
Before folks guffaw at the above paragraph, remember that a Democratic President and Congress passed the current labor law in the 1930's because of such union intimidation of employees who resisted organized labor.
Luckily enough Senators have promised a filibuster to keep it from getting through that chamber, and the President has promised a veto if it does make it to his desk.
Technorati Tags: Labor, Unions, Congress, Card Check, Veto, Filibuster
Labels: Card Check, Congress, Filibuster, Labor, Unions, Veto
posted by Crazy Politico at 6:09 AM
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