Employee Free Choice Act gives workers some freedom

As the new chairman of the Allied Labor Council I wanted to this opportunity thank everyone who helped with and participated in this year's Labor Day Parade. It came off as another success. This year, like many others, includes a lot of changes.

The chairman of the Allied Labor Council Robert Evans, also the grand marshal for this year's parade, has retired and will be sorely missed by all of organized labor in this area. He has been a true leader and advocate for working people. And Ruth Stewart, the one person who has made sure everything with the Labor Day Parade goes off without any glitches. This was Ruth's last parade, as she is retiring as the Allied Labor Councils secretary. Ruth will still be involved with the United Auto Workers, but we will be losing her experience and knowledge with the Allied Labor Council, and we want to thank her for all she has done.

As the business representative for Carpenters Local 372, I wanted to address an issue contained in several of the articles that have recently appeared in The Lima News about the so-called card check (Employee Free Choice Act) that has been proposed and supported by virtually all of organized labor. It has been opposed aggressively by the business side of the aisle. Even some of our elected officials are entering into the debate.

Maybe I can shed some light on the situation from someone who has been involved in organizing campaigns and what happens. This legislation has been portrayed as a way for unions to remove the ability of working people to vote on union certification. Even the Republican Party and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have stated that they are fighting for workers' right to vote on union certification.

First of all, you have to understand that the card that is being referred to is an authorization for representation card. When employees sign an authorization card, it is the start of what the Department of Labor looks at as the start of concerted activity. This was protected by federal law, referred to as the National Labor Relations Act. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act grants employees the right to organize, Section 8(a) outlines employer unfair labor practices, and Section 8(b) outlines union unfair labor practices during the course of concerted activity.

If you have 30 percent of the cards signed, then you can call for an election that is administered by the National Labor Relations Board. No one from Labor is going to call for an election with only 30 percent. It is usually 75 percent to 90 percent. Once the cards are certified, you have an election that must take place 60 to 90 days from certification.

This is the timeframe that is referred to by many as when the union coerces people. But I have never had to coerce anybody to sign a card for more money, better health care and pensions. Do the math: Who do you think says I will shut my company down, threatens to fire the workers who signed those cards? It is the employer or the contractor. It is certainly not the union doing so.

For that 60- to 90-day period, they are the one with a captive audience. If someone is fired for signing an authorization card, that is an unfair labor practice that takes at minimum two years to resolve if it is resolved at all. You have seen your friends and coworkers lose their job with no help from the NLRB, and that is not intimidation?

During the election, if the employer commits an unfair labor practice, the election continues until conclusion, then is set aside until the unfair labor practice is resolved. This can take two years or longer. How many of the employees who signed cards do you believe will still be employed by that company? Even if the election is won by the workers, current law allows for up to a year to complete negotiations and, if the company refuses to meet with the bargaining unit, there is no penalty. This can drag out for two years or longer.

So the election process that guarantees everyone's right to vote on union certification no longer exists. And, oh, jeepers, it looks as if all of those entities that are wringing their hands worried about protecting working people from intimidation of the unions are really the ones who already have removed that most basic principal that our great country has existed on for 232 years. The card check was brought about to put that balance for working men and women back into system. It is to ensure rights are protected.

It goes without saying: Companies and corporations in this country believe they have too many levels of regulation that restrict their business. Organized Labor is the most regulated business in the United States. And as businesses have come under less and less regulation, we in organized labor only ask the same from our government.

Deregulate business, deregulate labor and the government won't have to worry about sending stimulus checks. Let's turn the deregulation clock back to pre 1974 and we all will be happy. At least organized labor and all working people in general will be.

Bill Allen is the chairman of the Allied Labor Council. He is a 34-year member of Carpenters Local 372, a union in which his great-grandfather was one of the 16 founding members in 1910. He has been business representative for Carpenters Local 372 for 11 years. He lives outside Dunkirk.