At the Weissman Group, we remain committed to keeping our clients abreast of significant challenges facing today’s businesses. One such challenge is the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the most pro-union, anti-business legislation introduced in Congress since 1935.
Provisions of the EFCA
- Card Check Recognition
- Requires the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a union after a majority of a firm’s workers has signed union cards, thus putting an end to secret ballot elections.
- Federal Mediation
- Allows either party to demand mediation through Federal Mediation and Conciliation.
- Service (FMCS) if a company and a newly certified union cannot reach agreement on an initial contract after 90 days of negotiations.
- Binding Arbitration
- Mandates binding arbitration regarding the terms of a contract if the FMCS is unable to bring the parties to agreement after 30 days of mediation.
- Gives the arbitrator the power to define the terms of the labor agreement and bind the parties to those terms for 2 years.
- Does not permit the company or its employees the right to appeal the arbitrator’s ruling.
- Punitive Damages
- Dramatically increases the penalties for unfair labor practices committed by employers, but not unions, during an organizing drive.
- Provides for civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation against employers determined by the NLRB to have willfully or repeatedly violated employees’ rights during an organizing campaign or first contract drive.
It is critical that you train your supervisors to recognize card signing. Remember cards signed today are valid for a full year.