Reid Indefinitely Postpones EFCA Vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday that the Senate does not have plans to bring the Employee Free Choice Act to a vote anytime soon. Reid said that they have “too many other things on their plate” at this time.

When exactly Reid will bring the bill up is not known. With 2009 off the table, they could try for 2010. But that would be an election year for about a third of the Senate so the vote would be fresh on the voters mind when they head to the polls. One of those Senators up for re-election is Reid himself. And with poll numbers showing a plurality would definitely vote against him, and other polls showing him losing to lesser known Republicans, Reid may not want another tough legislative battle.

With every week, and sometime with everyday, we hear a different story. This is just the latest but is certainly subject to change.

What Exactly Do The Unions Want?

What started out as groups of liberal bloggers being upset with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey for criticizing Obama’s approach to healthcare reform (while offering his own ideas) has turned into a full scale boycott led by various labor unions. There have even been calls to oust Mackey as CEO.

That list of boycott supporters includes the Service Employees International Union who has taken the lead as the most vocal supporter of healthcare reform. They have been equally vocal in denouncing those who oppose the proposed legislation.

The next union involved is the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. I wonder why the UFCW would be involved in a protest against a grocery store. The UFCW, of course, would love nothing more than to organize Whole Foods- something they have been unable to do.

The reason they have not been able to is because they have nothing to offer that the workers do not currently receive. Look at what Mackey wrote about the healthcare plan they currently provide at Whole Foods:

Whole Foods Market pays 100% of the premiums for all our team members who work 30 hours or more per week (about 89% of all team members) for our high-deductible health-insurance plan. We also provide up to $1,800 per year in additional health-care dollars through deposits into employees' Personal Wellness Accounts to spend as they choose on their own health and wellness.

Money not spent in one year rolls over to the next and grows over time. Our team members therefore spend their own health-care dollars until the annual deductible is covered (about $2,500) and the insurance plan kicks in. This creates incentives to spend the first $2,500 more carefully. Our plan's costs are much lower than typical health insurance, while providing a very high degree of worker satisfaction.

Is the UFCW going to say they will get the company to pay more than 100% of the premiums? I don’t think that is possible.

The unions know they can’t win with what they try to offer. They are simply trying to mount a public relations campaign against the grocer in hopes that will open doors for them in the future. They have done it before, they are doing it now, they will do it again.

Nine Employment Blogs You Should Be Reading

No matter if you are a labor attorney, human resources professional, or business owner, no matter if you’re looking to stay informed about the Employee Free Choice Act, or you just want to recruit and retain the best employees – in the blogosphere, the answers are all there. The problem is, there’s such a wealth of information, it’s nearly impossible to know where to focus your energies.

In an effort to ease that queasy drinking-from-a-firehose feeling, I offer the following nine labor relations and employment law blogs. These are the ones I subscribe to, the ones I wouldn’t live without:

The HR Capitalist, http://www.hrcapitalist.com/
Launched in 2006, the HR Capitalist is the blog of Kris Dunn, vice president of people for DAXKO. With more than a decade of experiences as a human resources professional, Dunn’s blog focuses on the intersections of HR practices, technology, and business results; performance management and recruitment; and other numerous topics that affect HR generalists at all levels.

Right to Work Blog, www.right-to-work.org/blog/
The Right to Work Blog covers labor topics for the National Right to Work Committee. Established in 1995, the National Right to Work Committee is nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization that combats compulsory unionism, ensuring that all people have the right to join a union without being forced to do so.

George’s Employment Blawg, http://www.employmentblawg.com/
George’s Employment Blawg is a trusted resource for issues and commentary related to employment law. George Lenard, a lawyer specializing in labor and employment law, began the blog in May 2003 as a result of his online reading about employment law. As the popularity of the blog grew, Lenard started posting additional topics on general employment information and human resources.

Labor Pains, http://www.laborpains.org/
Labor Pains is the blogging home of the Center for Union Facts and the Employee Freedom Action Committee. The blog features commentary from Richard Berman, a longtime labor expert and the executive director of the Center for Union Facts, and J. Justin Wilson, the managing director of the Center for Union Facts. The blog also features guest commentary from other labor and employment law experts.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, http://blog.aflcio.org/
The AFL-CIO Now Blog delivers up-to-the-minute labor news and commentary from one of America’s largest unions. The AFL-CIO is a voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represents workers from a variety of backgrounds.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Network, http://1-888-no-union.blogspot.com/
Run by former union leaders, union organizers, and top labor relations professionals, this mission of this blog (and companion website) is to “dispel the myths for both you and your employer and to expose today's union tactics that are being executed on employees all across America—in the workplace, in the media, and on the streets.”

Culture to Engage, http://c2e.typepad.com/
Culture to Engage offers tips, examples, and how-to insights to help companies develop an employee engagement culture. Culture to Engage features blogs from Tim Wright, who focuses on helping management professionals in hospitals and other business leaders with employee engagement issues.

Union Review, http://unionreview.com/
Union Review provides labor-related news and views and acts as a forum for rank-and-file, as well as non-union members, to openly discuss work, struggles, and ideas to strengthen the labor movement. The blog is owned and run by Richard Negri, a freelance writer and union member.

Winning Through Employee Communications, http://employeecentric.blogspot.com/
Our little ole blog right here. I am glad you are reading it today, and hope you continue reading for the latest commentary and news from the world of human resources and labor relations.

Staying abreast of labor and employment issues is the best way to ensure that your organization remains union free and successful. Make checking all or some of these blogs part of your daily routine by subscribing to their RSS feed or bookmarking them.

The Latest on EFCA

Over the past couple months, it has become evident that the White House has been showing less concern for the Employee Free Choice Act then Barack Obama did as a presidential candidate, and yesterday we learned where EFCA presently stands.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, who is expected to be that organization’s next president, recently said during a web chat that President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel do not want to bring EFCA up until healthcare legislation passes.

Trumka said, as a result, that labor will do everything they can to help Obama pass his signature healthcare proposals. Various unions have been supporting pro-healthcare reform groups in terms of finances. They have also sent members to townhalls in an effort to combat the anti-healthcare reform tilt many have taken recently.

This is what Trumka said:

“The President/and Emanuel have both said they don’t intend to bring Employee Free Choice Act up until Health Insurance Reform is done…Which gives us an additional reason to do Health Insurance Reform now!”

Trumka remained optimistic, and did not want to give the impression that he was disappointed in the president’s agenda, but it is clear that EFCA has taken a backseat to a number of items the administration is promoting.

From Massachusetts:

It appears that the health of Sen. Ted Kennedy has steadily declined so much to the point that the Senator has written a letter asking that the state legislature to change the current law to allow the governor to appoint a replacement should Kennedy resign/ pass away. Kennedy has been largely absent this year, which may cause a problem for Democrats searching for 60 votes on healthcare, EFCA, cap and trade, etc.

Trumka also expressed his support for changing the current Massachusetts law. What makes this interesting is the fact that five years ago, Kennedy supported changing the state law to what they have today. At that time, then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, would have been responsible for appointing a successor to John Kerry should he have won the 2004 presidential election. Fearing that Romney would appoint a Republican, Kennedy and other Democrats supported quickly changing the law which calls for a special election in the case of an open seat.

In case you were wondering, the current Massachusetts governor is a Democrat.

Home Depot’s CFO Talks About The Need For Positive Employee Communications

I was recently reading an interview with Home Depot’s CFO Carol Tome where she touched on a number of subjects, including the Employee Free Choice Act:

The Employee Free Choice Act, generally known as card check, is a huge issue for Home Depot, with 300,000 non-union employees. Does it worry you less now than it did six months ago?

We are worried about it because we think it is just wrong. It has morphed a bit [with a key provision weakened in the latest version], and that we think is very good news. But we think it's wrong.

Any expectations about what's going to happen with it?

No, but let me tell you what will happen. We will do the right thing for our stores. When we talked to our store associates and said, Why would you want to join a union, you know what we learned? It is really not because of our pay. It is because of the relationship they have with their boss. So the most important thing for us is to make sure that our store manager can call each of his or her associates by name without their apron on and know something about them -- to create that connectivity, the family within the store, which keeps any organizing activities outside, regardless of what might happen.

Bernie Marcus, the founder and former CEO of Home Depot, has also been very outspoken about the proposed legislation in the past:

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) Undecided on EFCA

A coupe days ago, I wrote of Sen. Specter’s sudden change-of-heart on EFCA in light of a challenge from the left- but the Pennsylvania Senators' support (or lack of support) for the proposed legislation may not matter in the end.

Several moderate Democrats have expressed concerns with the Employee Free Choice Act, particularly around the card check provision. The New York Times recently ran an article saying that provision has been pulled from the bill, but labor leaders are insisting they want a vote on it as it is the core piece of the legislation that would make organizing easier.

One of the Democrats having second thoughts is Indiana Senator Evan Bayh who recently said he was withholding judgment on the bill:

“Sen. Bayh will evaluate it when there is something to analyze,” spokesman Brian Weiss told the newsletter. "He did not co-sponsor EFCA this year because, although he supports meaningful labor law reform, he felt changes needed to be made.”

Bayh did co-sponsor EFCA in 2007 when there was no hope of passage for the bill, but the Senator may be getting cold feet as business groups’ ramp up opposition in his traditionally Republican home state.

EPI Meet Dana Corp.

The Economic Policy Institute, a liberal DC think tank, recently released a study outlining what they see as a lack of coercion in places of employment where management has agreed to recognize unions via card check. Of course EPI strongly backs the Employee Free Choice Act so it’s not too surprising they would publish a “study” that comes to this conclusion.

The evidence used by EPI is less than convincing as they look at four states- Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon- where public sector employees can unionize when a majority of employees sign a union authorization card. Of course comparing public sector employees with the private sector is apples and oranges. If someone doesn’t like UPS, they can use FedEx; if they don’t like Wal-Mart, they can go to Target…but where do you go if you don’t like your county water department? This lack of competition has allowed public sector unions to grow, while there numbers continue to diminish in the competitive private arena.

Further, EPI pays no attention to a story earlier this year where workers at Dana Corporation spoke with FoxNews about what happened when management signed a neutrality agreement. A number of workers talk about the tactics used by the UAW in order to get the signatures needed for the union to be recognized.



Conclusion: If you don’t want to find evidence of coercion, you probably won’t find any…

Sen. Specter: Which Is It?

Workforce Fairness Institute is one of the leading groups opposing the Employee Free Choice Act and they have released this video chronicling Sen. Arlen Specter’s changing position on EFCA.



Similarly, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes a column today titled "Another day, another position: Specter & cloture."

The wildly turning political weather vane of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-If You Don't Like It Just Wait 15 Minutes, has spun again, putting him -- at least until further notice -- again on the wrong side of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Arlen Specter's primary concern is getting re-elected, not making economic sense. However wildly his political weather vane spins, it always points to what he thinks is best politically for him -- and never mind the people of Pennsylvania or the nation.

Arlen Specter Does It Again

Sen. Specter (D-PA) appears to have changed his position on the Employee Free Choice Act, yet again. In 2007, Specter- then a Republican- was the lone member of the GOP to support EFCA. Of course, with just 51 Democrats at the time passage of EFCA seemed highly unlikely. Its possible Specter voted to appease the unions knowing it would not pass.

However, by spring 2009 the prospects of EFCA clearing the Senate looked more likely as all eyes began to look toward Specter. Still a Republican, Specter was gearing up to face a conservative challenger in the 2010 primary. In hopes to satisfying conservatives, Specter announced that would not support EFCA in its current form. Specter failed to win approval from conservatives, and he quickly bolted for the friendly confines of the Democratic Party. The day Specter announced the switch he specifically made reference to EFCA, saying he is still opposed to it.

That opposition appears to have diminished in light of another primary challenge- this time from the left in the Democratic primary. Sensing unrest from his new base, last week Specter announced he will now support cloture on EFCA. What changed? New polls showing Specter locked in a tight race with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA).

Despite Specter’s reversal, EFCA still appears to be on the backburner in 2009. Not only have several moderate Democrats expressed reservation to the bill, but it looks like the Obama administration has its hands full with trying to pass healthcare legislation.

Straight from The Union Advocate Intern

Rose Friedman is an intern at The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. So straight from the lowest union flunky on the totem pole is today's Headline: Rumors fly, clock ticks on Employee Free Choice Act

The article demonstrates how bad the New York Times article (Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions) by Steve Greenhouse, hurt the EFCA's chance of passing prior to congress going on recess this week. The article reported, "a half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision (Card-Check) of a bill (EFCA) that would have made it easier to organize workers."

"What we have is a New York Times article," says Candace Lund, organizing director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO, "not a bill." Rose reports that the AFL-CIO is asking its supporters not to believe rumors of a compromise. It is still focused on getting the full bill to the Senate for a vote...perhaps even in late September.

According to labor, any compromise must contain these 3 central values in the Act:

1) Easier path toward unionization for workers or Card-Check

2) Ramped-up penalties for employers who use illegal anti-union tactics

3) Mandatory contracts within a year of unionization

"If the compromise doesn't have those core principles, we'll just have to go ahead with the vote," Lund says.

Josh Goldstein of American Rights at Work apparently agrees stating, "In our organization, a comprise EFCA bill will be judged on the fundamental principles of the EFCA. We are still advocating the bill the way it."

With Congress going on recess this week and two major battles awaiting their return: Healthcare Reform and Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation odds are good there will be no September vote. So when, who knows.

My advice is to stop guessing when the EFCA will pass or even what form will the EFCA pass in. Instead take advantage of the chaos and the gift that all companies and their employees have been given. What gift? The gift of time. Time to be proactive instead of reactive. Time to communicate your position to your employees. Time to guide and educate your Supervisors and Managers. Time to develop a comprehensive labor strategy that will keep your company and employees union free now and whenever the EFCA passes. With or without the help of your intern, simply sign up for "5 Days to a Comprehensive Labor Relations Strategy."