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"The Kiss of Death to Small Employers" -- Employer Defense Attorney, Clifton Smith, Comments on the Employee Free Choice Act

Oceanside, CA (PRWEB) June 16, 2008 -- Employer defense attorney, Clifton Smith, SPHR, of CE Smith Law Firm, offers these thoughts and commentary on the Democrats' latest piece of pro-union legislation, The Employee Free Choice Act: "If the Democrats retake the White House, small employers should brace themselves for a union organizing onslaught arising from a law euphemistically entitled The Employee Free Choice Act, or 'EFCA' (former Senate BIll 1041). If some version of this Act is passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, it will provide employees with no real choice at all. And, small employers will immediately experience a dramatic increase in union organizing drives that target their employees."

The EFCA eliminates the employees' right to determine the question of union representation by way of secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead, the question of union representation is determined by union card check recognition. Under the EFCA, the National Labor Relations Board would certify the union as the employees' bargaining representative without an election, in each and every instance where the NLRB determines that a majority of a Company's employees, in an appropriate unit, have signed union authorization cards.

This same Act would require an employer to reach agreement with the union on a first union contract, via mandated mediation and arbitration if necessary, with stiff civil penalties proposed (up to $20,000.00 per violation) for employers who violate employees' rights during an organizing campaign or during first contract negotiations.

"The Act's proposed use of union authorization cards as the exclusive means to determine the question of union representation sanctions a process that is inherently unreliable," states Attorney Smith. "Historically, unions have used pressure tactics and deception to obtain employee signatures on union authorization cards." As Mr. Smith observes, "Obtaining a signed, union authorization card by way of pressure, deceit or misinformation, does not represent a "free choice" by a well-informed employee. Instead, the process turns employees and their employers into victims. The EFCA would bless this approach as the only method by which the question of union representation would be determined. The effects of this Act would be felt immediately by small business."

Mr. Smith believes that small employers would be overwhelmed by union organizing activity. "Under the EFCA, a small employer would be an easy and tempting target for union organizers. For a small employer with 20 eligible employees, a union would need signed authorization cards from only 11 employees (a simple majority) before asking the NLRB for recognition under the EFCA as the employees' bargaining representative. The union could easily obtain these signatures in a matter of days. For an employer who has 50-100 employees, the union could complete this same recognition process within a few weeks. Small employers will have virtually no opportunity to respond."

"In my opinion, this Act has the potential to be the kiss of death to small employers who cannot afford the added cost of unionization," concludes Mr. Smith. "Only immediate preparation, education and training of the management team will prepare the small employer to respond to this very real threat."

CE Smith Law Firm is the small employers' resource in California, supporting a union-free environment, educating and empowering its clients to effectively manage their employees, insuring that its clients remain labor law compliant and serving as its clients' advocate, to advance and protect their interests.

http://www.CESmithLaborLaw.com

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