The Employee Free Choice Act is needed to level the playing field between employers and their workers who want to have a union. Under current law, 100% of workers could sign authorization cards and the boss could still refuse to recognize the union. 

Today, firms routinely stall elections while they use anti-union consultants and a variety of tactics (such as thinly-veiled threats to close the plant) to weaken support for the union. EFCA would require union recognition if a majority of workers sign authorization cards. 

Even when a union wins an election, the company often drags out negotiations. One-third of new bargaining units never get a contract. EFCA would mandate binding arbitration if an agreement is not reached in 120 days. The law would also toughen penalties on employers who violate their workers’ rights. 

Passage of EFCA is more than a fairness issue for current union members. Everyone will benefit if more workers can join unions. Without “union density,” the ability to achieve wage and benefit improvements is limited.

(For more on the battle to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, see Sec’y Treas. Joe Gordon’s column on page 23).