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Brand Protection/Anti-Counterfeiting Card Check and the Employee Free Choice Act Commercial Vehicle Safety Technology Global Environmental Regulations International Trade Negotiations Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit Stopping Distance for Heavy Duty Trucks
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supplier issues Card Check and the Employee Free Choice Act Description: The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as “Card Check,” would make it easier to unionize by requiring employers to recognize unions after collection of a simple majority of workers’ signatures on cards distributed by union organizers. Under the current law, employers can opt to recognize a union if presented with pro-union cards by a majority of the workers, but they can also demand a secret ballot election. The Card Check legislation would also require binding arbitration between new unions and management if the parties cannot reach agreement by themselves on a first contract. Status: House Democrats fulfilled a campaign pledge to organized labor to pass Card Check legislation early in the 110th Congress. H.R. 800, The Employee Free Choice Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives in early February 2007 and passed the House on March 1. Senate action on Card Check ended in the Senate with failure of a cloture vote on June 26. Impact on Industry: There are no quantitative estimates of the added costs to industry if Card Check is passed into law. Inflexible union work rules, rather than wages and benefits, have been cited as the threat to the future competitiveness of industry if Card Check resulted in a substantial increase in unionization. Companies that do not have a unionized workforce explain that they offer pay and benefits comparable to unionized workers in order to be competitive in their ability to hire and retain workers at all skill levels. The most important difference is not the cost of wages and benefits but rather the cost of compliance with time-consuming, inefficient union work rules and the business loss that results from the companies’ inability to shift workload quickly to meet changing conditions and customer demands. 2008 Anticipated Action: No Congressional action on this legislation is expected in 2008. This legislation would likely be raised again in 2009 if the Democrats hold the majority in the House and the Senate following elections in November 2008. All of the Democratic candidates for President have expressed their support for Card Check. MEMA Staff Contact:
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