Wal-Mart, APS, Microchip join opposition union bill (EFCA)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/05/11/daily64.html

Thursday, May 14, 2009, 2:11pm MST

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Arizona Public Service Co., Microchip Technology Inc. and Phoenix Children’s Hospital are among businesses opposing federal legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize.

The quartet are among 3,100 businesses nationwide that signed a May 14. U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter to Congress opposing the Employee Free Choice Act (HR 1409).

The bill, backed President Barack Obama, would allow unions to organize workers in some cases without the usual election. Instead, a majority of employees would have to sign authorization cards.

Unions say employers bully workers into voting against organizing. Opponents say the change would boost union efforts and drive up costs with unions pressuring workers to sign up.

Other businesses signing the U.S. Chamber letter include Motorola, Southwest Gas, Amway Corp., Coca-Cola Bottling, Banner Health, Centex Homes, Gordon Biersch Restaurants, Tyson Foods and Waste Management Inc.

Arizona business groups, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, also oppose card check.

[bluestateguy]

1. It's not patriotic to organize against the president and his policies

And I will be boycotting these businesses for their Un-Americanism.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

2. Here's the letter...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/ChamberEfcaLetter.pdf

May 14, 2009
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS:

We are writing to express our strong opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act
(EFCA; S. 560, H.R. 1409). As businesses of every size and industry with substantial operations
in all 50 states, we collectively employ millions of American workers.

EFCA has three provisions, each of which we oppose. The first provision would require
union recognition based on authorization cards signed by a majority of employees. This
provision would allow organizing to be conducted in secret, would effectively eliminate the
secret ballot election, and would hinder or even eliminate an employer’s ability to tell its side of
the story and correct misleading union rhetoric. Card check recognition also would effectively
disenfranchise employees who oppose unionization and, as courts have repeatedly recognized, is
inherently less reliable than traditional election processes for determining whether employees
wish to have union representation.

The second provision would enable a union seeking a first contract to require the
employer to enter into binding interest arbitration if a collective bargaining agreement were not
reached within as little as 130 days. The government-appointed arbitrator would be able to set all
terms of a union contract, not limited to wages and benefits, but also including management
rights clauses, work rules, use of technology, and other critically important provisions.
Compulsory interest arbitration is the antithesis of free collective bargaining and would put an
arbitration panel in the position of judging which tradeoffs are in the best interests of the
employer, union, and employees. No government-appointed arbitrator should have the power to
impose a contract that could radically alter an employer’s business model and potentially destroy
its competitive advantage and ability to compete in these difficult economic times. This
provision would completely overturn the longstanding principle that the parties are obligated to
bargain in good faith, but are not compelled to agree to terms they believe will put them in
jeopardy. Employers and employees will lose any opportunity to shape the contract if this
provision is enacted.

The third provision would significantly increase penalties on employers for certain
violations of labor laws. There are significant problems raised by these provisions, including the
lack of due process in the mandatory reinstatement provisions and the conversion of the NLRA
from a remedial statute to a punitive one. Most telling is the fact that the new penalties are
imposed for employer violations and not union violations, which demonstrates the lack of
balance in this ill-conceived bill. It is hard to see how coercion by labor organizations should be
favored over coercion by employers.

For these reasons we urge you to oppose EFCA as well as any procedural votes, such as a
cloture motion in the Senate, which would lead to its passage.

Sincerely,

What follows is a 30 page list of signatories. There are a lot of big names on the list, including General Electric and, of course, Wal-Mart.

Good comment by a reader @ TPM http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/3100-companies-including-wal-mart-sign-letter-to-congress-opposing-efca.php

"That was swell of them to put their names on a big list for us. It's so much easier to know who to boycott when I can carry a list around with me."

Thank you, scumbags.