U.S. Representative George Miller has proposed legislation that would allow employees to form a union if a majority of workers in the workplace sign cards authorizing the union as their bargaining representative.
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Download NowUnder current law, the National Labor Relations Board oversees an election process for unions that uses secret ballots.
The Employee Free Choice Act would require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union if the board finds that a majority of employees have signed authorizations designating the union as their bargaining representative.
Business groups oppose the legislation.
"The secret ballot is one of the most sacred concepts of our nation's democracy," says Rob Green, vice president for government and political affairs at the National Retail Federation. "This bill says workers faced with an important decision in the workplace shouldn't have the same rights they have in the voting booth on Election Day."
The legislation would also allow a union or employer to refer a dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) if an employer and a union are engaged in bargaining for their first contract and are unable to reach agreement within 90 days. Under the legislation, if the FMCS has been unable to bring the parties to agreement after 30 days of mediation, the dispute would be referred to arbitration and the results of the arbitration would be binding on the parties for two years.
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