Wednesday, February 11, 2009

New Blog/New Program: Employee Free Choice Act: Winning Even When You're The Designated Loser

President-elect Obama and leaders of both Houses of Congress have made the Employee Free Choice Act (“EFCA”) a legislative priority in 2009. Obama co-sponsored the legislation, also known as "card check," in the Senate, and he promised to make passage of it a top priority during his administration.

EFCA would effectively eliminate secret ballot elections in union organizing attempts and require businesses to recognize unions based solely on authorization cards signed by employees. Under EFCA if a union is able to convince, cajole, pressure or threaten a majority of your non-supervisory employees at any of your U.S. facilities to sign union authorization cards, your company will be required to recognize that union as the sole bargaining representative of your employees. You will be required to bargain in good faith to an agreement with the union, and if an agreement cannot be reached with that union on wages, hours, and working conditions within one hundred and twenty (120) days, the government will impose an agreement on you -- that is the government will decide what your employees will earn, the benefits they will receive, and under what, if any, circumstances you can administer policies, discipline and discharge.

I will be speaking and training employers how to avoid the implications of this law or any other that is enacted that makes it easier for unions to organize employees. A description of this new half-day program can be found at: http://www.crediblyconnect.com/Employee-Free-Choice-Act.html

To the end of preparing employers, I will be speaking in San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Springs later this month and in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in June, and to a variety of industry associations over the next several months. Review the website and if there is anything I can do to prepare your management team, please contact me at jimkarger@mac.com

I have also started a new blog dedicated solely to the proposition of keeping employers up to date on what may be the most damaging labor legislation in the last 50 years. If you want to be added to the recipient list, e-mail me.