Shenan Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 You may need to spell it out as if I were a 12 year old. I am overly tired. It's been a long stressful week with another stressful week to come. :sad: Dh came home from work today and dropped the 'bomb'. Apparently, if this bill passes, and 30% (my math may be a little off tonight but isn't that 30 out of 100?) of the employees decide they want to go Union, the company will be forced by this new law to go Union. Dh said the company is making it very well known to its employees that if this happens the company will shut itself down. Which would leave dh without a job. :scared: I would appreciate some links on the bill if anyone has one and where it currently stands/sits. I Googled it but came up with a bunch of blogs/junk sites about it. And since when is 30% a majority rule? And how does the other 70% fall into the 'Employee FREE CHOICE'? FTR, dh makes $10 an hour over Union scale with this company so it would NOT behoove/benefit him to vote union. :D TIA for any help and clarity in the matter. Shenan PS- PLEASE DO NOT turn this into a political thread or a 'unions are better than non unions' or vice versa thread. -Thanks. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think that the 30% is the percentage that would trigger a subsequent decision for unionization. One of the big concerns over the bill is that there would no longer be a guarantee of a secret ballot. Instead you would be faced with someone with a clipboard (a union rep, or a shop steward for example) and have to say to his/her face, potentially in a very public venue that you do or don't want the union. The intimidation potential is very troubling to me. There are also provisions that provide a pretty short timeline for beginning negotiations and then sending negotiations to arbitration. I wouldn't get hung up over the name of the bill contradicting the actual result of the bill. That happens all the time. If you google Employee Free Choice Act you will get not only union sites but Heritage.org, a Wall Street Journal article on the topic, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in Austin Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I don't know _anything_ about unions, but I started to read teh WSJ article and thought this was interesting, given what you said your dh's boss said: "Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) today, an employer can insist upon a secret ballot after 30% of workers indicate by card checks their interest in a union. . . . .He cannot threaten to move or shut down if workers vote for the union." oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I don't know _anything_ about unions, but I started to read teh WSJ article and thought this was interesting, given what you said your dh's boss said: "Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) today, an employer can insist upon a secret ballot after 30% of workers indicate by card checks their interest in a union. . . . .He cannot threaten to move or shut down if workers vote for the union." oops Maybe he was sharing with them the reality of the situation as he sees it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I don't know _anything_ about unions, but I started to read teh WSJ article and thought this was interesting, given what you said your dh's boss said: "Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) today, an employer can insist upon a secret ballot after 30% of workers indicate by card checks their interest in a union. . . . .He cannot threaten to move or shut down if workers vote for the union." oops Thats interesting. SO I guess its better if all the employees have no idea how the employer feels. Then when the company shuts down the employees scratch their heads and think "well gosh I could have gone either way..." Too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbyl Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 When I googled it, the first page of sites was mostly dot org sites, presenting a variety of labor policy viewpoints. The first site listed was a wikipedia entry with slew of resources listed at end of article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think that the 30% is the percentage that would trigger a subsequent decision for unionization. One of the big concerns over the bill is that there would no longer be a guarantee of a secret ballot. Instead you would be faced with someone with a clipboard (a union rep, or a shop steward for example) and have to say to his/her face, potentially in a very public venue that you do or don't want the union. The intimidation potential is very troubling to me. There are also provisions that provide a pretty short timeline for beginning negotiations and then sending negotiations to arbitration. I wouldn't get hung up over the name of the bill contradicting the actual result of the bill. That happens all the time. If you google Employee Free Choice Act you will get not only union sites but Heritage.org, a Wall Street Journal article on the topic, Thank you for the links! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 "To be sure, the employer's free-speech rights are limited under the NLRA. He cannot threaten to move or shut down if workers vote for the union. " After reading the above from the article. I imagine dh's employer is expressing his opinions now, while he still has the right to do so... It's just scary to think that 30% of the workers could easily change a company if this bill passes. And as I said before..it would not benefit dh in any way to vote union. Anybody know what the chances are in this bill being passed? Or where I could start to look for that particular, whose for it and whose against it, info? Could many companies go under if this bill passes? I am envisioning Walmarts and Food Lions, etc. either going under or having to increase prices on their products dramatically. After all, they would have to be able to pay their employees union wages/benefits, etc. TIA for all your insight and help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Maybe he was sharing with them the reality of the situation as he sees it. I would say that..... we never threatened our employees with the info, but the ones that cared knew that the costs of "going union" meant we would have to close our doors. Simple facts. No threats. Reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think that the 30% is the percentage that would trigger a subsequent decision for unionization. One of the big concerns over the bill is that there would no longer be a guarantee of a secret ballot. Instead you would be faced with someone with a clipboard (a union rep, or a shop steward for example) and have to say to his/her face, potentially in a very public venue that you do or don't want the union. The intimidation potential is very troubling to me. There are also provisions that provide a pretty short timeline for beginning negotiations and then sending negotiations to arbitration. This is the scary part to me. Public ballot? That's unreal. What if presidential elections were done with a public ballot? I think people should be able to work in a union shop if they want. I think they should apply at union shops. I know I want to keep my business small enough so that this bill does not affect me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think people should be able to work in a union shop if they want. I think they should apply at union shops. I know I want to keep my business small enough so that this bill does not affect me. That's another concern of mine. I don't think there is a limit on how small the business has to be to NOT be affected. So if you have a small 10 person company and 3 people decided they wanted to go union, then you are forced by the EFCA to become union. PLEASE someone correct me if I am wrong here! I want to understand this bill accurately. Are small businesses exempt from this law? My opinions are the same as you stated. If someone wants to work for a union shop/company they should apply to work for a union company. They should NOT force the company they work for to become union as this bill would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 That's another concern of mine. I don't think there is a limit on how small the business has to be to NOT be affected. I found the Small Business Exemption: (from wikipedia) The Employee Free Choice Act does not alter the existing small business exemption of the National Labor Relations Board. The jurisdiction of the NLRB remains at the level set in 1959, $500,000 gross volume for a retail business, which, if inflation-adjusted, would be about $3.3 million in 2008.[6] The NLRB also requires a union to consist of a minimum of three employees who have no supervisory authority, exempting many small businesses from the increased penalties of the EFCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 The NLRB also requires a union to consist of a minimum of three employees who have no supervisory authority, exempting many small businesses from the increased penalties of the EFCA. Please forgive me for asking so many questions...but I am still having a hard time understanding.....:sad: Why wouldn't the larger companies be able to follow this rule? If going union would require 3 employees who have no supervisory authority, that would mean some of the heads/bosses would have to vote to go union, right? :confused: This is so confusing...why is it that determining whether a company is to be union or not is falling into the hands of big brother and not majority rule? What did I miss that put it into the hands of government? Obviously I am not very knowledgable in business management...BUT....If most large companies are forced to become union companies, where will the competition be? There won't be competitive wages? I also don't see competitive pricing for products or job services? Am I thinking correctly or am I overthinking it? *long drawn out sigh* I don't know.... if this passes maybe I/we will be happy with/for the non secret ballot.....;) :D :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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