Post-Election CAI Advises Employers on Possible Labor Law Changes
Released on: October 20, 2008, 7:53 am
Press Release Author: Alison Beckwith
Industry: Law
Press Release Summary: North Carolina's largest employers' association says 70 years of labor laws and court rulings could be overturned if the Employee Free Choice Act becomes a federal law
Press Release Body: Raleigh, N.C. - The state's largest employers' association, Capital Associated Industries, Inc. (CAI), is warning its members about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a proposed bill in Congress that would dramatically increase the ability of organized labor to rapidly unionize workplaces. Whether or not the EFCA becomes law depends on the November elections.
"We've launched a broad effort to educate our members and the business community about the proposed law," says CAI's CEO Bruce Clarke, J.D., who has served as chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. "We believe a well-managed union-free workplace is a better environment for everyone involved, but should the current labor laws be overturned by the next Congress and president, companies need to be prepared."
CAI is warning companies that if passed, the bill would remove the traditional election process by secret balloting, as well as the chance for both sides to work out what is best in the workplace. The EFCA makes it easier for unions to organize employees in a workplace and guarantees a contract by forcing binding arbitration.
There are three main components to the EFCA:
1. No Secret Ballots This says no secret ballots are required and no union election will be scheduled if 50 percent plus one employee signs a union card. The signatures will be visible to all and the pressure on employees to sign will be great.
2. Arbitrated Contract If the union wins the card check process, the parties must have a new and complete collective bargaining agreement in place and signed within about 100 days or the union can request binding arbitration. The contract would last two years. Currently, complex negotiations on a first union contract can take months to complete.
3. Employer Muzzle This provision penalizes an employer for speaking out about a unionizing effort, up to $20,000 per violation for asking an employee, "So, how do you feel about us getting a union?", for example.
"If this bill passes, employers and managers may feel handcuffed by these penalties and refuse to tell employees what they need to hear," adds Clarke. "We feel it is our responsibility to educate our members and other professionals in the community about what their company might be faced with in the upcoming months."
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About CAI, Inc. CAI is a non-profit employers' association founded in 1963 and serves the greater Research Triangle, Piedmont Triad, and 65 central and eastern counties in North Carolina. With offices in Raleigh and Greensboro, CAI provides 1,000 member companies with management information, day-to-day telephone guidance, as well as training and human resources services.
To learn more about CAI, visit: http://www.capital.org
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