|
Manhattan Institute is working
on this important issue through papers, events and media
appearances.
|
|
|
 REPORT
The
Employee Free Choice Act: Free Choice or No Choice for
Workers, Richard Epstein, March 2009
|
|
ARTICLES
Card
Check is still alive and deadly for workers, Jim
Copland, Washington Examiner, 04-08-09
Mandatory
labor arbitration, Richard A. Epstein, Washington
Times, March 24, 2009 (This article is also linked
on RealClearMarkets.com,
3-24-09)
|
|
PODCAST
Click here to listen to Jim Copland, the director
of the Center for Legal Policy, interview Richard Epstein
about the problems with the Employee Free Choice Act
and how it will hurt businesses in America.
|
|
RADIO
Jim
Copland on WOR's "The John Gambling Show", 3-27-09
Jim
Copland on Radio America's "Dateline Washington",
3-26-09
Jim
Copland on WABC's "The Curtis Sliwa Show", 3-25-09
|
|
TELEVISION
Jim
Copland on Fox News "The Strategy Room", 3-27-09
|
|
OTHER
RESOURCES
A
CARD-CHECK Twitter scam, InstaPundit.com,
5-7-09
After Card Check, Don't Forget Binding Arbitration,
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, RealClearMarkets.com,
05-07-09
Predictions of Major Job Losses Should EFCA Pass,
Walter Olson, PointofLaw.com, 4-23-09
Card Check Workers Can Only Check In, Diana Furchtgott-Roth,
RealClearMarkets.com, 3-12-09
Obama: Labor Friendly, or Worker Friendly?, Steve
Malanga, RealClearMarkets.com, 1-14-09
Windows on the Future?, Walter Olson, City Journal,
12-18-08
|
|
The Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 (EFCA) is a bill altering
American labor law that is supported by the Obama administration
and the majority leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The bill would substantially increase penalties for so-called “unfair
labor practices” and thus deter management from campaigning
against the unionization of its workforce. In addition, the EFCA
would significantly reshape American labor law, which has remained
relatively stable since 1947, through two major substantive provisions:
- Card check. The card-check provision of the EFCA would
allow unions to form if labor organizers collected signatures
from a majority of the workforce. Under current law, workers must
approve unionization by a majority vote in a secret-ballot election
conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.
- Compulsory arbitration. The EFCA requires that arbitrators
impose contracts on labor and management if the two sides cannot
agree to terms after 120 days. The composition of arbitration
panels and the scope of their powers are not specified in the
bill but left up to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,
an arm of the Department of Labor. The contracts imposed by arbitrators
would not be subject to review, judicial or otherwise, and would
be binding for two years.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST BUSINESSES, UNIONS
Source: RealClearMarkets.com
With employee unionizing legislation being discussed in Washington,
it's worth taking a look at National Labor Relations Board complaints.
Charges of unfair labor practices against both unions and businesses
are filed with the NLRB and are included in the board's annual report.
In the most recent year, NLRB received a total of 22,331. The above
chart details how those complaints are categorized by the NLRB.
UNION RATES, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
Source: RealClearMarkets.com
CHART DATA
| States with Lowest
Unemployment |
Unemployment rate |
Unionization rate |
| U.S. average |
8.1 % |
13.8 % |
| LA. |
5.1 % |
5.6 % |
| N. H. |
5.1 % |
12.4 % |
| N. M. |
5.1 % |
11.6 % |
| OK. |
5 % |
8.3 % |
| Iowa |
4.8 % |
13.3 % |
| Utah |
4.6 % |
7.1 % |
| S. D. |
4.4 % |
6.4 % |
| Neb. |
4.3 % |
8.7 % |
| N.D. |
4.2 % |
8.2 % |
| WY. |
3.7 % |
8.9 % |
Supporters of unions claim that they help to raise the standards
of workers, while opponents of union-friendly legislation on the
table in Washington claim that rising unionization spurs unemployment.
Above are unionization rates of the states with the lowest unemployment
in the country. Union statistics are from unionstats.com
For more information, contact Hannah Martone
at 646-839-3313 or hmartone@manhattan-institute.org
|
