An effort to pass "card check," long regarded by unions as the best organizing tool, begins

Top officials from the nation's largest labor unions back new Schumer plan

Presidents, elected officers, and other representatives from the nation's largest labor unions joined US Senator Charles Schumer today in opening a new legislative front in the effort to make it easier for workers to form unions. Schumer's bill would require the federal government to recognize unions when a majority of workers in a company sign written authorizations in favor of forming a union, a process called "card check." Only 13 percent of the US workforce is unionized.

"In the last several decades, employers and their lawyers have learned every trick in the book to stop unionization efforts, making it virtually impossible to organize the modern workplace," Schumer said. "With the economy in the tank and incomes of average Americans remaining stagnant, workers need unions like never before. The idea behind this bill is to update the labor laws to ensure employees can more easily organize their workplaces."

"Canada's workforce is currently 32 percent unionized, and the United States is 12 percent unionized – even though our countries offer fundamentally the same economy. The difference in our unionization can be explained in two words: card check," Schumer added. Canada's federal labor code as well as many of its provincial statutes allow workers to use card check to organize.

Since the 1950s, union membership has dropped by more than twenty percent, leaving only 13.2 percent of today's workers enrolled in unions or employee associations. These declines have been particularly striking among construction, manufacturing, transportation, and utility workers where membership has dropped by about 15 percent on average. While older workers are still enrolled in unions, younger workers are not joining them – only 5.9 percent of workers under 24 and only 12.5 percent of workers between 25 and 34 are in unions.

Schumer said that these declines threaten the earning power of American workers. Without the leverage provided by unions, workers have a harder time securing higher salaries. In 2002, for example, the median weekly earning among full-time wage and salary workers aged 16 years and over was $587; the median weekly earning for union members aged 16 years and over was $740.

Schumer blamed these drops on an outdated, burdensome unionization process that gives employers an advantage in undermining organizing efforts. Under the current system, employees seeking union representation first sign a petition that is sent to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as evidence that sufficient interest exists to justify an election. Once the NLRB has certified that sufficient interest exists to form a union, the workplace must wait 60 days before holding the election.

Since the initial petition to the NLRB is made available to employers, many workers do not feel comfortable signing it and those who do often feel pressured to remove their names by the management. In addition, many employers use the 60 days before the actual election to engage in anti-union activities, sometimes masked as “mandatory” work sessions. The Cintas Corporation has reportedly used these mandatory meetings, as well as harassment and the threat of firings to counter the effort to organize the 17,000 people employed there.

Schumer said the delays that are built into the process make it easier for employers to break up organizing efforts and ensure lower enrollment in unions. He said the best way to reform the process would be to implement a card check system that lets a majority of employees in a workplace who have signed authorizations – a card, a petition, or some other document – form a union.

"The bottom line is that unions need to be able to make the case to workers for why organizing the workplace is to their advantage but the current unionization procedures make it hard for them to do that," Schumer said. "The labor laws are laden with loopholes that make it easy for employers to throw up roadblocks to organizing and they need to be reformed. I asked labor officials from all over my homestate and throughout the nation how to best reform the system and, without fail, they all said card check is the way to do it."

By simplifying the process and removing the bureaucratic hurdles that are conducive to employer intimidation, Schumer said a card check process would lead to greater union enrollment and announced that he would be introducing legislation to require the NLRB to certify unionization efforts that are done via card check. Schumer’s bill, "The Employee Right to Choose Act" would:
• Simplify workplace organizing. The bill replaces the current union election system, by requiring the NLRB to certify the formation of a union when a majority (50 percent plus one) of employees in a work unit have signed authorizations – a card, a petition, or some other document – to form a union.

• Limits employers’ abilities to union-bust. Under the current system, once the NLRB has certified employee interest in organization, the workplace must wait for a pre-set amount of time before participating in an election. Many employers currently utilize that time to engage in anti-union activities, such as “mandatory” work sessions and harassment. Schumer’s legislation would close that window for employers.

• Facilitates first contract negotiation. This legislation sets hard time limits by which parties must begin and complete their negotiation of the first contract after union certification. If the parties fail to meet those deadlines, the bill would authorize the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Board and, if necessary, a third-party arbitrator to force a first contract between the new union and its employer.
Presidents from the following labor unions joined Schumer today: James P. Hoffa Jr. President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Morton Bahr, President, Communications Workers of America; Bruce Raynor, President, UNITE!; Martin Maddaloni, President, United Assn. of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing &Pipe Fitting Industry; Sonny Hall, International President, Transport Workers’ Union; Frank Hanley, President, International Union of Operating Engineers; Michael Goodwin, National President, Office & Professional Employees International Union; Capt. Duane Woerth, President, International Airline Pilots Association; Baxter Atkinson, National President, The American Federation of School Administrators.

Elected Officers and representatives from the AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, International Union of Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers/UAW, Service Employees International Union, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union, International Union of Painters & Allied Trades, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers, Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Seafarers’ International Union of North America, American Maritime Officers.

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