The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 241-185 to approve legislation that would make it easier for employees to form unions.
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Download NowThe legislation, called 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 (this process is known as card check).
Under current law, the National Labor Relations Board typically oversees an election process for unions that uses secret ballots. The card-check process can be used if the employer agrees to it.
Unions and employers disagree about which form of choosing whether to authorize union representation is fairer. Employers argue that the card-check system makes employees' position on a union public, which could open them up to intimidation from union supporters.
"This vote sends a disturbing message that the right to cast a ballot in private is not protected in the halls of Congress," says Tom Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "We call on the Senate to uphold the right of workers to vote in private-free of coercion or influence-on whether or not to join a union."
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.
The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it has bigger hurdles to overcome. In the Senate, Democrats have a majority, but too few votes to end a filibuster. The White House has already signaled that President Bush would veto the legislation if it ever came across his desk.
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