The Employee Free Choice Act would be the first major improvement of national labor law since 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act to provide most private sector workers with the right to a union. In recent decades, that right has eroded as employers have routinely violated the law by illegally firing or disciplining workers who try to organize.
The Employee Free Choice Act would give workers a fair chance to form unions to improve their lives by:
- Allowing them to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.
- Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
- Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act in March. The measure goes soon to the floor of the Senate, where Coleman is expected to be a pivotal vote.
At the university, a small group carrying signs greeted Coleman as he arrived for a forum. Coleman told the group he currently opposes the Employee Free Choice Act because it would deprive workers of the right to vote for a union through a secret ballot. (Click here to watch the exchange. 7 MB Windows Media File)
That claim, made frequently by opponents of the legislation, is not correct. Under the new law, workers would have the right to decide the process for choosing a union -- by signing cards or through an election. Currently, the employer controls the process.
Proponents say an updated worker rights law would be a major way to strengthen the middle class.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, www.mnaflcio.org
The Employee Free Choice Act would be the first major improvement of national labor law since 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act to provide most private sector workers with the right to a union. In recent decades, that right has eroded as employers have routinely violated the law by illegally firing or disciplining workers who try to organize.
The Employee Free Choice Act would give workers a fair chance to form unions to improve their lives by:
– Allowing them to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.
– Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
– Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act in March. The measure goes soon to the floor of the Senate, where Coleman is expected to be a pivotal vote.
At the university, a small group carrying signs greeted Coleman as he arrived for a forum. Coleman told the group he currently opposes the Employee Free Choice Act because it would deprive workers of the right to vote for a union through a secret ballot. (Click here to watch the exchange. 7 MB Windows Media File)
That claim, made frequently by opponents of the legislation, is not correct. Under the new law, workers would have the right to decide the process for choosing a union — by signing cards or through an election. Currently, the employer controls the process.
Proponents say an updated worker rights law would be a major way to strengthen the middle class.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, www.mnaflcio.org