Labor law reforms urged to stop exploitation By J.D. HILLARD, Special to this newspaper
Friday, April 23, 2004 2:30 PM PDT
WASHINGTON (MNS) Lawyers who represent companies in labor disputes told a House subcommittee Thursday that labor laws need to be reformed to prevent labor organizers from exploiting flaws in the system.
Labor leaders, however, criticized efforts to reduce the options available to employees who want to unionize. They advocated changes to prevent lengthy contract bargaining processes they said might undermine union support among employees.
The first step in organizing a shop is a survey of employee interest in unionizing. Organizers distribute cards and workers who want the shop to explore unionizing return the cards with their names. If 30 percent of the employees sign and turn in the cards, the National Labor Relations Board stages an election with secret ballots to determine if a majority of employees want the union to represent them in collective bargaining.
If 50 percent of employees turn in signed cards, the employer can choose to automatically accept the union as a representative of the employees.
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, expressed concern that union organizers
could exploit the automatic acceptance provision by pressuring employees and employers to recognize unions.
According to committee staff, Rep. Charles W. Norwood, R-Ga., will soon propose a bill to eliminate automatic recognition of unions based on initial petitions.
However, Imperial Valley labor activist Eric Reyes said removing the automatic recognition option would take away organizing opportunities.
"It's a known tactic of unions to organize aggressively in the face of anti-union activity," Reyes said.
Reyes said calling union actions coercive is an anti-union tactic employers use to demonize union efforts. Reyes said what union opponents call coercion are actually union efforts to educate workers about their options.
Nancy Schiffer, general counsel for AFL-CIO, told the committee employees who want to organize a union face "insurmountable" opposition
from employers. She advocated the Employment Free Choice Act, a bill to cut off lengthy contract negotiations.
Reyes praised measures such the Free Choice bill that force bargaining to come to an end. He said in two cases in California employer stretched bargaining over 20 years by failing to negotiate in good faith.
According to Reyes, employers can draw out the contract bargaining process by bringing offers to the table that make no compromises with union demands. Employers, he said, also draw out the process by contesting legitimate employee votes.
While Reyes said California has a law similar to the bill proposed in Congress, the national law will still help in California.
"It will force owners and unions to compromise more," Reyes said. "That's better for business in the long run and for the workers. No one would win everything they want."
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