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Maine Employee Rights

April 17th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine. Chao recently addressed the National Association of Women in Construction in Augusta, Maine. The Secretary spoke at the organization’s annual trade show. She emphasized the administration’s opposition to pending federal legislation (H.R. 800 and S. 1041, the “Employee Free Choice Act”) that would substitute signature cards for private balloting in unionization elections.

“A worker’s right to a private ballot election is fundamental in our democracy and should not be legislated away by special interest groups,” said Secretary Chao. “Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that effectively takes away a worker’s ability to vote on unionization in a private ballot election.”

Under the current law, which has been in existence since 1947, if 30 percent of a workplace expresses interest in union representation, then the National Labor Relations Board supervises an election and the determination is made by the majority of workers, having cast their votes privately.

The private balloting process was enacted 60 years ago in part to protect workers from coercion and harassment in unionization elections, according to Chao. “This administration is fighting to protect workers’ access to private ballot elections,” Secretary Chao added.

“A union would automatically be recognized if union organizers were able to gather the signatures of 50 percent plus one worker in a workplace,” said Secretary Chao. “It is possible that nearly half the workers would not even be aware that a union organizing campaign was going on.”

Under the proposed bills, no private ballot election would occur and a union would automatically be recognized if the union’s organizers were able to gather the signatures of 50 percent plus one worker in a workplace. Under H.R. 800 and S. 1041, decertification of a union would continue to require a private ballot election. The bills also increase employer penalties and change collective bargaining laws.

“Equally troubling is the mandatory binding arbitration provision that takes freedom out of ‘free’ collective bargaining in newly unionized workplaces,” said Secretary Chao. “If a labor contract was not agreed to within the congressionally-dictated, 120-day timetable, the federal government would force a two-year labor contract on workers and employers. Workers would not have any right to ratify, or not ratify, the contract.”