the unions don’t want you to know in a secret ballot election during union organizing drives,...
TRANSCRIPT
1615 H Street, NWWashington, DC 20062-2000Main Number: 202-659-6000Customer Service: 1-800-638-6582Email: [email protected]
he deceptively named
“Employee Free Choice
Act,” better known
as Card Check, is the top
legislative priority of organized
labor. Card Check would strip away the ability of workers to vote in a secret ballot election
during union organizing
drives, dramatically
increase the
number of
unionized
workplaces
— particularly
among small businesses — and
transfer hundreds of millions
of dollars from the pockets of
workers to union executives
through mandatory union dues.
The Unions Don’t Want You to Know:
• UnderCardCheck,workerswouldlosetheprotectionofasecretballotelectioninunionorganizingdrives.
• Becausethedecisiontosignupforaunionwouldbemadepublicly,unionorganizerswouldknowwhichworkershadrefusedtosignacard.
• Employersanddissentingworkerswouldbepowerlesstoresistunionpressuretactics.
• CardCheckcouldalsotakeawayworkers’abilitytovoteonthetermsofanewunioncontract—includingtheirownpayandbenefits.
• Unionorganizerscouldapproachworkersvirtuallyanywhere—evenattheirhomes—togetthemtosignacertificationcard.Aunioncouldbecertifiedbeforeemployers,andmanyworkers,evenknewanorganizingdrivewasunderway.
Center for W
orkforce FreedomU
S Cham
ber of Com
merce
1615 H Street N
WW
ashington DC
20078-2565
Card Check Brochure.indd 1 3/20/08 4:07:00 AM
What Is Card Check?Card Check is a proposed federal law that organized labor is pushing through Congress that would enable unions to invade small businesses and do away with secret ballot elections for workers during organizing campaigns.
Under traditional organizing, unions have to gather signatures from at least 30% of workers at a facility expressing interest in joining a union. Then they can petition the federal National Labor Relations Board to hold a secret ballot election. Workers get to hear from both the union and the employer about the pros and cons of union representation. If the union gets more than 50% of the vote in a federally-monitored secret ballot election, the union is certified and collective bargaining must begin.
Now, unions want to short-circuit the process by cutting workers and employers out. Card Check would give union organizers free rein to pressure workers into signing authorization cards. Anyone who refused could be approached over and over again, even at home at night. Once enough workers were persuaded to sign, the union would automatically be certified, and it would be illegal for
workers to have a secret ballot election. Worse yet, Card Check would set a compressed
schedule for employers to bargain with their new union and if an agreement isn’t reached in time, a government-mandated arbitrator would dictate
contract terms without employer or worker input.
Why Does Card Check Matter to You?Workerswould lose a vital privacy protection — the ability to vote in a secret ballot election — if Card Check became law. Paid union organizers
would be free to harass workers to sign an authorization card — anytime and
anywhere. Union organizers would know which workers were “for”
them and “against” them. And if a government-mandated arbitrator takes over, workers would be banned from voting to approve their first union contract.
Employerswould be powerless to resist unionization once more than half their workers signed authorization cards.
In fact, a union could get certified before the employer
even knew what was going on. If the employer refused to
knuckle under to the new union’s demands, they could face a government-mandated arbitrator.
Smallbusinessessuch as restaurants, motels, retail stores and banks would be prime targets for rampant unionization, because Card Check would make labor organizing cheaper and easier than ever before.
Communitiesthat have avoided labor strife — even Right to Work states — would be inundated with labor activists and organizers in a post-Card Check world.
What You Can DoOrganized labor is pouring literally hundreds of millions of dollars into a 2008 campaign to elect a “filibuster-proof Senate” that will rubber-stamp Card Check legislation next year. Your representatives in Congress need to hear your voice, too. Call, write or visit your Senators and Member of Congress, and urge them to oppose Card Check. Tell your friends and neighbors about the issue, and consider writing a letter to your local newspaper. Learn more about Card Check and the U.S. Chamber’s initiative to protect your freedom and your community at http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/.
Yes, I do mind if the unions watch me vote! I want to help defend freedom in the workplace and protect my community from aggressive union organizing.
Name: ______________________________________
Address: _____________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________
E-mail: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Visit http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com to sign up online and see more information.
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