EFCA threatens Michigan manufacturing jobs
The “card check” process increase the likelihood of putting workers into high-pressure sales situations that could involve intimidation and coercion.
EFCA would require companies and newly certified unions to enter into binding arbitration if they cannot reach agreement on an initial contract after 120 days of negotiations.
Unions have a direct financial stake in the outcome of any organizing drive, expecting to collect 1 to 2 percent of workers’ wages in dues.
Michigan manufacturers, the primary employers in the state, are struggling to rebound following nearly a decade of economic challenges. EFCA has the potential to weaken manufacturing companies and negatively impact Michigan’s economic rebirth.
EFCA is designed to reverse the labor movement’s long-term decline. Union membership has fallen steadily since the 1950s. Today, just 12 percent of workers belong to unions.
More than 75 percent of union members favor keeping the current system of private ballots over replacing it with one that provides less privacy.
EFCA would take away a worker’s right to a private vote on unionizing his or her workplace and put an end to most organizing elections, replacing them with “card checks.” Workers have a right to decide whether to join a union without being subjected to coercion or pressure. The card check system would allow both the union and employer to know how a worker voted.
