Employee Free Choice Act: Labor vs. Business

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Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus.

Representative George Miller (D-Calif.), co-author of the Employee Free Choice Act.

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The proposed changes to federal labor law would eliminate the secret-ballot election if the union gets 50% plus 1 of the employees to sign authorization cards. The cards become the votes. Game, set, match. What about those 4,000 lost elections? All of those employees who voted "No" would have become union members under the proposed law. This would generate billions of new dues dollars that will translate into unprecedented political power for labor unions.

Obama Supports the Plan

Business leaders can't afford to sit on the sidelines on this issue. If the Democrats have a good November, the act could become law early next year. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), an original co-sponsor of the Act, has said, "We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It's not a matter of if—it's a matter of when. We may have to wait for the next President to sign it, but we will get this thing done." Those who support the act claim that it will "protect workers." This doesn't pass the smell test. Former Senator George McGovern, a champion of organized labor, has seen through the false rhetoric of the bill's sponsors, commenting that the act "runs counter to ideals that were once at the core of the labor movement. Instead of providing a voice for the unheard, [it] risks silencing those who would speak."

Considering the enormous financial threat the Employee Free Choice Act poses for many companies, directors as well as top management have a responsibility to address this issue proactively—before disaster strikes. EFCA is bad for employees and for business. More important, it's bad for America because it destroys one of the hallmarks of our democracy—secret ballots in elections. Voting by secret ballot is ingrained in the fabric of America and has made our nation a beacon of democracy. I cannot understand why so many in Congress would so easily rip secret ballots from our national fabric.

Marcus is co-founder of Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, launched in 1979. Marcus is currently chairman of the Marcus Foundation, a charity focusing on children's issues, medical research, and free enterprise.

Essential to the Future of America's Middle Class
The right to freely choose to join or form a union will ensure economic progress for the people who are the backbone of the U.S. economy

By George Miller

When it comes to our economic priorities, there is nothing more important than ensuring a strong middle class. The middle class is the backbone of our economy and our democracy.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the middle-class life has become increasingly difficult to maintain. Workers' wages have stagnated as the cost of everything from milk to college tuition has skyrocketed. The staples of a middle-class life—a fair wage, access to health care, a sound retirement—are getting squeezed. The percentage of national income going to workers' wages is at its lowest level since 1929, while the percentage of our nation's wealth going to corporate profits is at its highest since the 1940s.

There is one way to turn these trends around: By giving workers the right to freely choose to join or form a union.

Union Organizers Threatened

Consider the numbers. Union workers' wages are 30% higher than nonunion workers'. Union workers are 62% more likely to have employer-provided health care and four times as likely to have a pension. These workers achieve better living standards by exercising their freedom of association and joining together to bargain for something better. Yet, while 57 million Americans say they would join a union tomorrow if they could, only 15.7 million have. The reason is simple: The current system for organizing a union is broken, undemocratic, and rife with intimidation.

A quarter of all employers in organizing drives illegally fire at least one worker for union activity. More than half of employers threaten to close the business if the union wins the election. And 92% of employers force employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings during campaigns.