EFCA Doomsday

It's not going to take a crystal ball to tell the future of how Congressional voting in the House of Representatives will go on the Employee Free Choice Act...or in the Senate for that matter.  If the $819 BILLION economic recovery plan can get House approval and ALL 177 Republicans voted against it, every business in America should wake up and see the EFCA handwriting on the wall.  Do not place all your bets on the Senate (with it's 49 Republicans and 49 Democrats and 2 independents) to realistically save the day and defeat the Employee Free Choice Act.  America  has voted itself into Doomsday and the real scary part is that most have little to no understanding of the dire consequences.  

Some states are taking preventative matters into their own hands to battle the impending EFCA.  Today, in Georgia, Senator Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) introduced legislation, a constitutional amendment which secures the right to a secret ballot for nearly all elections, including those for union representation.

"Replacing a worker's private vote with a piece of paper that is potentially signed under harassment is a travesty.  Card check is nothing more than a power grab by union bosses that will come at the expense of hardworking Georgians," said Johnson.

If passed by the General Assembly, the measure will appear on the 2010 ballot for consideration.  With the EFCA most likely to go before the House this summer, a day late and dollar short comes to mind and I believe Federal legislation ultimately trumps State in most situations.  But at least it brings the EFCA debate to public's attention.  Are you educating your employees about the EFCA and your company's union free position? 

"I'm Not Qualified" - Hilda Solis

"I'm not qualified to talk about right-to-work laws", says Representative Hilda Solis to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee).

Hilda Solis had her confirmation hearing over two weeks ago as one of Obama's first cabinet picks for Labor Secretary and nothing since. Why?

She seems like a lock. Look at her credentials at least from SEIU's President Andy Stern's perspective...

"The daughter of two immigrant workers and union members and a board member of American Rights at Work, she will be a Secretary of Labor working men and women can finally count on to stand up and fight for them. For Representative Solis, the America Dream is not an abstraction. Her parents met in a citizenship class. She understands personally the challenges workers face in a global economy and the need for a bold new agenda that expands healthcare for everyone and gives American workers a greater choice and a greater voice..."

Ahh, but those nagging non-answered questions from those pesky Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) has been pushing for more detailed responses to questions posed on several issues, including the EFCA bill.

When asked whether he was satisfied with the answers Solis has given, Enzi said: "What answers? She doesn't even recognize her own record when giving the answers. Right now there are people who don't want her out of committee. It's not just me. While we traditionally confirm a president's nominations, there's also the obligation to really get it down on paper what their beliefs are."

You can't get a Senate vote if you can't get a committee vote... Now, even Senator Ted Kennedy (who heads the committee) cannot confirm when a final vote will occur.

Solis, who repeatedly dodged questions about the bill at her confirmation hearing, said that she could not express her opinion on it because she and Obama had not yet discussed the issue.

Enzi says that he hopes the nominee will talk with the president about the bill, "get an answer, give us an answer."

Interesting developments... I bet the unions are feeling a little queasy about now.

An EFCA Summer?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...looks like an EFCA summer with "High Hazard" flags posted.

This week at the third annual Senate Progressive Summit, Harry Reid, Democrat Senator from Nevada remarked that "he would like the Senate to take up EFCA this summer."

Greg Kaufmann reporting for The Nation attended the day-long series of panels with Senators and other members of the member wrote, "An aide (for Harry Reid) later said that (EFCA this summer) might be optimistic--that it wouldn't be brought up until Dems are confident they have the 60 votes needed to stop a GOP filibuster."

Now this in a Reuters interview at the start of the 111th Congress with Representative George Miller (Democrat-California), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives labor committee, "The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will receive prompt attention in this Congress. But more urgent matters -- most importantly the deepening economic crisis -- must take precedence for now. We'll let the administration get settled in here. We've had some discussions. Senator (Edward) Kennedy and I have had some discussions... We're waiting to talk to the administration. We'd like to get it done relatively soon and I think we will."

So for those of you that have been flying the Low Hazard flag, operating in an "if and when" mode and waiting for the EFCA current to shift, take advantage of this small window to both develop and implement your preventative labor strategy. If you're not creating a message for new hires to educate them about your union free philosophy, if you don't have focused, consistent communication with your employees, and if you're not training your managers and supervisors... those high hazard waters are likely headed your way.

Bottom line, if you're not implementing a proactive labor relations strategy, then you're not prepared to do business in this brave new world we're about to enter.

EFCA Inevitable? 100 days and counting

In an article online at Human Resource Executive, a question is raised -"EFCA Inevitable?". The answer is more telling... "Whether or not that is in the cards, HR leaders should be communicating with employees to "pre-empt the union message."

Whether the Employee Free Choice Act will come up in the first 100 days remains to be seen. According to the article, Mike Eastman, executive director of labor policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, says that the bill has a better chance of being defeated rather than passed, since so many businesses are lobbying against it.

The problem, Mr. Eastman, is that a lot (and by a lot, I mean a whole lot) of companies and thus their employees have never heard of the EFCA... and many more have heard something about it but no real clue about what it really means.

Martin F. Payson, senior labor partner at the White Plains, N.Y., office of Jackson Lewis, says "that the bill as currently written has a "good but not excellent" possibility of passage."

Either way, the article goes on to say, companies and HR teams are stuck in the middle, fighting the proposal as well as planning for its passage.

Mike Aitken, director of government affairs at the SHRM, says "another way companies can defend against union organizing is to become an "employer of choice."

He couldn't be more right. Take away any reason for a union to come into your facility and manipulate your employees. Dust off the employee manuals, update them if needed, show the corporate orientation video with pride, do whatever it takes to eliminate unhappy employees. Bring your supervisors and managers up to speed on exactly what the EFCA is and what it could do if passed and then communicate the company's position to the employees. If you are a company that has historically been afraid of the using the "U-word", then now is the time for a paradigm shift from the leadership on down.

Take these first 100 days and "Go out front right now and pre-empt the union message, Payson says. "That's what every HR executive should be doing right now."

>EFCA Defense Kit

Union Dude says EFCA would have saved Circuit City

The union dude I'm referring to is Ron Moore, a freelance writer with decades of service in the grassroots community as a local union president, union organizer and national AFL-CIO staff.

His article on Examiner.com, in a nutshell and I do mean NUT, claims that if the EFCA had been in place that Circuit City would have been unionized and thus would have prevented this economic loss.  He thinks that forced collective bargaining via the EFCA would have made the company form a partnership with its workers through collective bargaining and that a compromise could have been reached allowing the experienced workers to stay and save the company.

He also blames "unionbusters"  saying they (Circuit City) encourage a non-cooperative relationship with its workers, choosing instead a top down approach putting profits over people and counsel managers to avoid negotiating with the employees at any cost.

As an expert in Employee Communications who also specializes in Labor Relations, this is laughable.  Circuit City (and this is tragic for all of its 34,000 employees) simply made bad business decisions and all the checks and balances that most corporations have in place failed.  This company has been around 61 years and it simply got it's ass kicked via the competition (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart) AND it tragically waited to long to react or adjust or to even sell out and find a buyer to save them.  In Atlanta, we have Circuit City stores every 10 miles or so, I could asked 20 or even 50 people if 1) Do you shop at CC? 2) if yes, did you buy anything there? 3) Why not?

From DVDs, to televisions, to Xbox games to computer accessories, EVERYTHING in the store could be bought cheaper somewhere else.  In fact almost anywhere else and if you didn't need whatever you were buying right away, you could save hundreds or even thousands online.  We recently purchased equipment for a conference room, Newegg.com vs. Circuit City, saved over $1,000 going online.  That's not $50 or even $100 saved and maybe I could go with CC and right away local delivery, that was over $1,000 INCLUDING shipping.  My point, this TRAGICALLY has nothing to do with EFCA, collective bargaining, unions, unionbusters, managers or any of the now laid off employees.  It has to do with poor business decisions by the top executives, the board of directors and the creditors/banks that funded or continue to fund the disaster in the first place. 

Sharper Image (almost too late as well) is about to reinvent itself with no more stores, catalogs or internet.  It will sell itself to 3rd party vendors to sell the Sharper Image products and you can bet they will be cheaper and more readily available than ever before.  Everything changes, sometimes for no reason (Pepsi logo) and many times to simply survive.  In 1979, "Projections, Inc." was a multi-image slide projector company specializing in employee communications.  Where would we be today if hadn't evolved with the times and situations presented?  You can also bet that I'm running several business scenarios on what's next, including what happens with the EFCA, unions and politics and mostly because so many people seem to think just like Ron Moore until it's too late.

PS- For the more interesting story behind his article--read the comments...I don't think people are agreeing with his commentary, so maybe there is hope out there.

EFCA: Communication Inspiration

I'm reading a book called "Ownership Quotient: Putting the Service Profit Chain to Work for Unbeatable Competitive Advantage" by authors James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser Jr., and Joe Wheeler.

It's about creating an ownership state of mind in your employees and organization so that it adds value to your company and delights your employees, customers and investors. This mind-set of "employee-owners" of your business creates an enthusiasm for their organization that in turn spreads to countless customers with similar satisfaction, loyalty and dedication. Then the "customer-owners" are in turn so satisfied with their experience that they relate their stories to others, persuade them to try your product, and provide constructive criticism and new product ideas.

The question becomes, "How can you raise the ownership quotient among both your employees and your customers?" Once you achieve this answer or perhaps this environment...the lifetime value of a customer-owner can be equivalent to that of more than a hundred typical customers. And that makes the lifetime value of an employee who can promote customer ownership priceless.

I'm proud to say that at Projections we foster, maintain and constantly evolve the "ownership quotient" in our employees and the proof is in our "customer-owners" that we serve. Many of our services and products in both custom and off-the-shelf came from or are developed with the help and enthusiasm of dedicated employees and customer involvement. As we enter our 30th year assisting companies in communicating to their employees, I know we have been a value-added resource in helping them create the best environment for their employees and customers.

I highly recommend setting the tone with an effective Orientation video and including your position on remaining union free. Of the hundreds of companies for whom we've created Orientation videos and who continue to maintain positive employee communications, none are unionized.

The Employee Free Choice Act will test your corporate culture and environment. Don't be caught off-guard, continue communicating and promoting your ideals and union free philosophy to your management team, supervisors and employees via a website and/or a video or sock puppets--whatever method will deliver a consistent, succinct and memorable message.

Invest in your culture and the payback will be priceless.

PS- the picture at the top is Tesco Controls, the founder, Wallace Tessmer, sold the company to the dedicated Tesco employees in 2003. It is 100% owned by the employees through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). I can also assure you - it is union-free.

Level Playing Field, My @$$

For everyone out there that is battling the Employee Free Choice Act, and is constantly baffled by all the companies and employees that have never heard of it, you can stop banging your head against the wall.

Starting this Thursday, all of America will see a multimillion dollar national ad campaign by Big Labor to push the Employee Free Choice Act. The labor coalition, American Rights at Work, is spending $3 million to air the ads on cable channels, Comedy Central political shows like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," and reportedly in select cities or regions represented by senators that are against the EFCA.

To see all of the ads click here. The link will take you directly to the source via a new website by American Rights at work called freechoicact.org

The first ad, "Hope and Change", has Grocery Store Workers - not your typical union workers...

"I hope to have some health care ... for a change," says the first worker.

"I hope to work just one job... for a change, says another.

"I hope to be able to save a little... for a change," says a third.

"We voted on Election Day for hope and change. Now it's time for action. The Employee Free Choice Act lets workers choose to join a union to earn better pay, health benefits and job security."

"Change"... where have I heard this message before? Was it a bank ad? McDonalds? No, it was a union-funded $350 million dollar ad campaigns for a President and other elected officials.

The second ad, "We don't ask", pits big corporations vs. the little employee.

"We don't have golden parachutes or option plans," says one worker.

"All we ask for is a level playing field," says another.

The ads are simple (and actually don't say anything at all), and the most frightening thing about that is IT WORKS. Because if your employees and the public don't know anything about the EFCA then why tell them anything about the EFCA except that (trust us) it's "a good thing" for them, their jobs, and their families.

Why would you let unions and labor front organizations tell your employees about the EFCA and joining a union? Would you let drug dealers tell your kids about drugs? The sales pitch is the same, "trust me, you'll like it, it feels good now, costs nothing now and everybody's doing it."

While Unionfacts.com, Workforce Fairness Institute, Heritage Foundation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other pro-business organizations will attempt to counter this programming and educate the general public, no business should rely on this as the sole method of educating employees. It's vital to create a proactive labor strategy and implement it before this legislation passes.

With the recession and other fiscal woes, along with a few international skirmishes, I figure we have at least 100 days prior to anyone with a brain putting the EFCA back into play before the 111th congress. Just enough time for you to get the whole truth -and the reality of this proposed legislation- in front of your employees... because the alternative is allowing some television ads to "educate" them on your behalf.

Unions Still Kickin' it Old School

There was an article by Robert Wendover in yesterday's Atlanta Journal Constitution that raised an excellent question about the young workforce of tomorrow and unions.  "Will these old-line organizations (AFL-CIO, Change to Win, unions) be ready for the attitudes and expectations of the young workers who will enter their ranks?

In so many cases, they (prospective union members) are led by a local leader (union) who sticks to the same story he or she has repeated for the past 20 years: "If you're a union member, you get better wages, better training and better working conditions.  We'll represent you in grievances with management and support you when there's a job action or strike."

But the young worker wonders, "why would I be involved in all that when I can work for the non-union company down the street and make the same money if you subtract out the union dues? Besides, there's no such thing as job security, and I can pick up the training I need on my terms."

The theory is that the radical younger workforce of today likes and potentially supports labor's objectives but in the long run will NOT necessarily be prepared to follow the movement's rules.

This new generation will have little patience for rules and union procedures like Seniority ("I'm better qualified than he is, what's with this?"), Apprenticeships ("I can learn this all online"), and Union Stewards ("Wait - YOU'RE talking for me?"). This sound-bite generation wants the short version - they have no interest in 400-500 page constitutions and rule books, collective bargaining or even paying dues. They gleaned their cynicism from Generation X, and while they're way too savvy to get taken advantage of, they're also focused on simplicity. Contract clauses, grievance procedures... these are just not things that generation "y-me" wants to deal with. 

So the unions and their old guard that still operate for the most part in the same way as 50+ years ago--- when not their fathers, but their grandfathers or even great-grandfathers were union members. Unions will have to try to grasp the fact that "times were different" or they are going to have a new revolution - or possibly a mutiny - on their hands at some point in the not-so-distant future.

The Employee Free Choice Act will destroy companies first and then eventually (and possibly dramatically), the "children" will turn on the unions... and the evolution of labor in America may take the path of the dinosaur, as nature intended.

Unions should watch what they wish for, it's just unfortunate that everyone will lose in this process.

Ledbetter, Paycheck Fairness and now H.R. 243?

In my last blog, I said the EFCA may stall while the 2 labor houses (AFL-CIO and Change to Win) get their collective acts together or "hey perhaps they will merge back together or something wacky like that..."

Today's headline from the Chicago Sun Times "AFL-CIO, Change to Win may reunite" with subheading of "Is Split Over? | Giant labor federations discuss reuniting"

In the meantime, while the EFCA may stall, the unions and democratic congress are wasting no time pushing other business crippling legislation. The House is voting today on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12)

Obama has already made it clear that he will sign both of these bills.

Also just introduced from the esteemed representative from Texas, Gene Green, is bill H.R. 243 which will amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the arbitration of initial contract negotiation disputes, and for other purposes.

This is my favorite kind of bill... "and for other purposes." Hey, Gene, this is already in the EFCA legislation... or is he smarter than we think? Is Gene preparing an end-run or secret run at the most controversial part of the EFCA in case it is compromised? The full text of this legislation is not available to the public yet.

Just so you know, Gene has introduced several other "important bills" in the House as well:

H.RES.25 Expressing support of House for the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month H.RES.26 ...the United States Postal Service should issue a postage stamp commemorating Juan Nepomuceno Segqui (colorful history in Texas senate and mayor of San Antonio in 1841 but he served AGAINST Texas and the U.S. in the Mexican-American War...so I vote no stamp for you). H.J.RES.9 propose amendment to Constitution of U.S. to abolish the electoral college and to provide for the direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States (this one I actually could mull over for a minute...)

What will tomorrow's headlines hold? How about "Andy Stern swallows it's largest local, California's 150,000-member United Healthcare Workers West, WHOLE and spits out Sal Rosselli like a watermelon seed" or some headline like that, although probably shorter... it's just all a part of that "cleaning up their act"...and maybe getting Stern in line to be crowned King...

EFCA: Remember the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act?

The inauguration is coming...the inauguration is coming....

Will the Employee Free Choice Act be right behind it? That's the question I am asked almost daily by companies trying to develop a Labor Communications Strategy to communicate their position to employees and train supervisors & managers on just what the Employee Free Choice Act is all about.

Unfortunately, trying to predict when, exactly, the EFCA shoe will drop is like predicting the weather - and it changes hourly. I just received two emails from trusted sources that are 180 degrees apart.

So, I'm going to meet them in the middle. I don't know when Obama will have time to go to the bathroom, must less do anything that's not directly involved with saving the world after January 20th. From Iraq to Gaza to Healthcare to taxes to scandals to appointments ( & appointments with scandals) to the mortgage crisis to quitting smoking. The man will be busy... but the unions want payback and I'm quite sure they will get it in some form other.

I think there are a few factors that may help Obama with timing. The EFCA bill will come when it comes. In the meantime, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney's term expires this year and he's not seeking re-election. Who will be his replacement? Rumor has it that a bunch of the presidents of the AFL-CIO's largest member unions are meeting in Washington later this week to discuss where the labor movement is going (mission, priorities and such) and who should run it (AFL-CIO). Then that other house of cards--The Change to Win Coalition can't seem to keep it's illustrious leader, Andy Stern, out of the news (and it's not good news). Six months ago I would have pegged him as the golden boy to replace Sweeney, but now I can't imagine they'd want that kind of notoriety.

It does beg the question, "Should the AFL-CIO and Change to Win merge back into one big family in order to give the appearance of having their collective act together?" This is where Obama and the EFCA may stall for a few months, while the 2 labor giants clean up their own houses or even merge into one to create the illusion of speaking with one voice as they try to pass the most dangerous piece of legislation for U.S. business since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act 1930. (Don't remember Smoot-Hawley? In a nutshell, it raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels... 1,028 economists signed a petition against this legislation... no one would listen & it passed anyway... countries retaliated with increased tariffs on U.S. goods... American exports and imports plunged by more than half... the Great Depression followed... ).

So when will the EFCA pass and in what form? Who knows? Even those far closer to the legislation than I am can't seem to predict. The important thing is to take advantage of the time you have now to create your company's Labor Communication Strategy and implement it. After all, it's long been said that those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

A voice from the future about the EFCA

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Day at 2:04pm I got a voicemail message that was like a late Christmas present.  The message is a classic and I think fully represents what the EFCA will bring to so many employees if or when the act finally passes.  What Unions and the EFCA will bring is confusion, frustration, loss of income, bewilderment and apparently wacky phone calls to our office for assistance...

They might want to read the fine print on our website next time...

This poor woman is calling about her son-in-law's loss of his job and how the union simply is not a resource to assist in any way.  She continues on for about a minute questioning what all the dues he paid were actually for...

Take a quick listen and share with your friends & colleagues, because who know who they will call next for help...