The misleadingly-named Employee Free Choice Act, or EFCA, (also called the Kill American Jobs Act) is one of the most controversial bills affecting employee rights ever to be proposed. In essence, EFCA is a Washington bailout for big labor union bosses.
After securing passage in the House of Representatives in 2007, union bosses mounted an extraordinarily expensive (and misleading) campaign to convince lawmakers that the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act should become law.
HERE'S HOW EFCA WORKS:
STEP ONE: NO-VOTE UNIONIZATION The misleadingly-named Employee Free Choice Act effectively eliminates more than 60 years of employees' right to a federally-supervised secret-ballot election to determine whether or not to become unionized.
Under EFCA, if your company is targeted for unionization, a union can unionize you through obtaining 50% +1 of you and your co-workers' signatures on union authorization cards or any other properly-worded piece of paper (like a sign-in sheet at a union meeting).
It is the gathering of signatures on a union's authorization cards (or other form) that is so controversial, as unions can legally mislead you and your co-workers about the true purpose of your signature through manipulation and intimidation. [To read more about union organizing tactics, click here.]
STEP TWO: GOVERNMENT-DICTATED CONTRACTS
Following a union's certification as your 'collective bargaining agent,' EFCA requires a period of negotiation to take place between the union and the employer. If an agreement cannot be reached within 130 days of unionization and following 30 days of mediation, a government-appointed arbitrator will impose a contract upon you, the union and your company.
This government-imposed contract lasts for a period of two years. If you (as an employee) do not like the terms the government-appointed arbitrator forces on you and your company, there is nothing you will be able to do about it.
There is no contract ratification or rejection voting procedure under EFCA, nor can you kick the union out (decertify) until the end of the contract.
Currently, EFCA has been introduced into both chambers in Congress. While virtually identical (you can view the House version here and the Senate version here), EFCA may be amended before its final passage.
Below is additional information regarding the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act:
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