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Employee Free Choice Act-Chuck Krugel Letter to the Editor Published

By Chuck

Huliq.com, an international online citizen journalism outlet has published a letter co-written by the President of the Greater O’Hare Association (GOA), Shirlanne Lemm, and I in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act (AKA “card check bill”). Also, I’m on the Board of Directors for the GOA, and Shirlanne and I are on the GOA’s Government Affairs Team.

The letter can be read at Huliq here and below.

Employee Free Choice Act Raises Concerns

As one of Chicago?s largest business associations, representing over 80 communities and 700-plus business members, the Greater O?Hare Association, www.greaterohare.com, recognizes the need to address business concerns such as the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), AKA the ?card check bill.?

Essentially, the bill will make it much easier for unions to organize businesses of all sizes and antagonize business owners and operators. This is why the bill is so controversial, and why so many business associations and chambers across the U.S. are against it.

We are solidly against this bill because in our global economy the assertion that a third party entity such as labor unions actually help businesses maintain global competitiveness is diminished when you consider that the EFCA does away with one of the our most sacred democratic tenets?the secret ballot election. Just as importantly, the EFCA can lead to a business? unionization when it?s too late for that company to do anything about it.

Our members? businesses require the freedom and flexibility to work with their own employees to decide the best course of action to take regarding the generally accepted subjects of labor negotiations?wages, hours and conditions of employment. Without this freedom and flexibility, smaller businesses, which generally don?t have the resources or wherewithal to effectively deal with labor unions, and that don?t have the luxury of being ?too big to fail? or buffered by government stimulus funds, are likely to be reduced to 3rd party participants in their own businesses.

Moreover, our members could lose the ability to quickly and cost effectively deal with and resolve workplace related issues. They?ll have to rely on the costly and time consuming intervention of other 3rd party regulators such as mediators and arbitrators, which is some of the baggage that comes with labor unions. Moreover, it?s commonly understood that once a union is legally in the workplace, it?s extremely difficult to decertify it (get rid of it) while still maintaining the business? core operations.

There are many reasons why the percentage of the private sector unionized workforce has been in decline for years (recent estimates put this at 7%-8% of the overall private sector U.S. workforce). Some of these reasons include the fact that since the 1960’s came the passage of many of our toughest civil rights and employment laws covering almost all employers in the U.S. Today, due to these same laws, plus greater safety and child labor law enforcement, there is greater equality in the workplace relative to race, gender, age and other protected classes. Many of these same civil rights and employment laws were passed subsequent to our era of major labor law legislation. Additionally, pay equality (which generally doesn?t exist in union workplaces because poor performers are protected) has improved. In other words, workplace relations, safety and child labor standards have improved, while union popularity, efficacy and integrity have declined.

Should this legislation pass in any form, even in a watered down version, we?re extremely concerned of the detrimental impact it could have on the economy, Illinois and our member businesses.

Shirlanne Lemm, President, Greater O?Hare Association, 630-773-2941, slemm@greater-ohare.com; & Charles Krugel, Labor & Employment Lawyer & Member, Board of Directors, GOA; Both Are Members of GOA’s Government Affairs Team.

Full post as published by Charles A. Krugel, Labor & Employment Law, HR Law on June 10, 2009 (boomark / email).