By: Jeffrey A. Risch, Esq. – SmithAmundsen LLC
Over a year ago the Obama Administration welcomed labor with open arms. Last January President Obama euphorically stated to union bosses “WELCOME BACK TO YOUR WHITE HOUSE.” Today, that euphoria has greatly subsided. The BIG promise made to labor was (and still is) the Employee Free Choice Act or EFCA whereby unions could organize an employer’s workforce without a secret ballot election. In other words, EFCA would allow labor to organize with a simple majority of workers executing a union authorization card. In light of recent political events, significant union organizing reform may not come any time soon.
With EFCA or without EFCA organized labor believes it must do something about the ever increasing decline of union representation in the private sector. Less than 7.2% of all U.S. private sector workers are represented by a union. Take away the transportation and construction industries and that percentage drops to less than 5%. There is no question that organized labor must fight for a remarkable change in the law to make it easier for it to organize workers. To counter this trend organized labor believed an Obama Presidency, coupled with both the House and Senate controlled by the Democrats, would surely provide the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to pass EFCA and create unions through a simple card-check process.
