Big Labor Launches Multimillion Dollar EFCA Ad Campaign (VIDEO)

Big Labor will launch a multimillion dollar national ad campaign Thursday to push for the Employee Free Choice Act. Known as "card check," the bill has been a top priority of organized labor for years and would allow workers to choose the means by which they decide to form a union.

Under current law, employers can require that workers vote in a secret election whether or not to for a union. Under the new law, workers would be able to choose instead to publicly sign cards stating that they do, in fact, want to form a union. If more than 50 percent of workers sign the cards, then the union is official. The law further mandates that bosses negotiate with the union.

The labor coalition, American Rights at Work, plans to spend three million dollars on the campaign and air ads on national cable networks, Comedy Central political shows, and possibly in select cities and regions represented by crucial swing-voting senators.

Defeating card check is one of the Chamber of Commerce and Congressional Republicans' highest priorities.

One of the ada, shown here for the first time, utilizes President-elect Barack Obama's mantras of "hope" and "change." The ad features grocery store workers (cutting against the grain of the typical hard-hat stereotype of a union worker).

"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.

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"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," the ad concludes.

A second ad, also shown here for the first time, plays off the nation's resentment of bailouts for the financial sector.

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

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

Comments

[jadecat]

Go to the Global Investment Watch blog to read a good article (the 1st in a 3-part series) summarizing the coming battle over EFCA and how millions of dollars in shareholder wealth is currently being used by corporate funded groups to perpetuate misleading and false propaganda about the legislation...

http://globalinvestmentwatch.com/2009/01/21/battle-royale-over-efca-part-i/

[JohnBryansFontaine]

1. Employers that illegally fire at least one worker for union activity during
organizing campaigns: 25%

2. Chance that an active union supporter will be illegally fired for union
activity during an organizing campaign: 1 in 5

3. Employers that hire union-busters to help them fight union
organizing drives: 75%

4. Employers that force employees to attend one-on-one meetings against the
union with their own supervisors: 78%

5. Employers that force employees to attend mandatory closed-door meetings
against the union: 92%

6. Employers that threaten to call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
during organizing drives that include undocumented employees: 52%

7. Companies that threaten to close the plant if the union wins the election: 51%

8. Companies that actually close their plants after a successful union election: 1%

9. Workers in FY 2006 who received back pay in cases alleging employer
violations of workers" rights under the National Labor Relations Act: 26,824

10. Percentage of cases in which employers do not agree to a contract after
workers form a union under the NLRB process: 44%

11. Portion of public that says strong laws protecting workers" freedom to
form unions"without employer interference"are important: 77%

12. Portion of public that disapproves of employer anti-union campaigns
when workers try to form unions: 67%

13. Nonunion workers who say they want to have a union in their workplace: 60 million

14. Number and percentage of U.S. workers that belong to unions: 15.7 million
or 12.1%

[William Duell]

"the Board shall not direct an election but shall
certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection a "

exact language... It is not logically possible for one to be for the EFCA and also claim to be for widely accepted individual rights and liberties. Such as- a secret ballot in a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
Property rights- binding arbitration by legal fiat? A joke. That basically says, "shareholders, you don't own your company", "Mr. or Mrs. Florist, you don't own the flower shop".
You cannot be for the legally mandated arbitration in this bill and also say you believe in property rights. You cannot even say that you "own" the couch in your living room.

[Beachrunner]

Wal Mart:

"We want the EFCA to pass so we can get rid of 50% of our employees, with the excuse being that we can't afford them anymore . . . . "

[lj9283]

Walmart will get rid of 50% of their employees as soon a they perfect the "shelf stocking" robot.
Give that less than five years. Robots in conjunction with RFID will be stocking shelves in your town soon.

[William Duell]

Wal-Mart is a retailer is a retailer that has a goal of delivering goods to consumers as efficiently as possible. Does that fact hurt your feelings?

Corporations should not employ people that they do not need.

[JohnBryansFontaine]

Secret ballot argument against Employee Free Choice Act is a canard
by Ron Moore Hartford Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-2071-DC-Special-Interests-Examiner~y2009m1d13-Secret-ballot-argument-against-Employee-Free-Choice-is-a-canard

Don't believe the Lies of the employers: www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org

[Bettysdad]

One of the greatest problems we face is that somehow Republicans have managed to convince people they aren't workers. The country is filled with "associates," "team-members," and other ridiculous terms.

We tend to thing of "workers" as people who do manual labor, not people in offices, call centers, stores, etc. If you can get fired, you're a worker. If somebody makes a profit on what you do all day, you're a worker. f you don't own the place, you're a worker.

[Terrence0258]

Republicans don't believe in unionization because only CEO's are supposed to make a decent living. If you want to be rich start your own business. That's how Bush, I mean McCain, I mean.....you get the point.

[Grannysue]

Good ads, I totally agree with the act being passed!

[SimJack]

In a just world, unions would not be necessary. Once management and shareholders realize this and implement appropriate policies, they would quickly see an increase in savings, ROI and productivity. All the time, effort and money spent by each side trying to outflank the other would be redirected to achieving common goals that benefit everyone involved.

[castlerider]

You can bet Republicans are furious over this, and as soon as this becomes a commercial everyone is seeing, they'll be calling all those State judges that they bought their way into being elected to remind them that when these employer's and big business' law suits come to court, they better sure as hell side with the employer. Oh, but that wouldn't be fair would it? - Psyche.

[PATina]

It's called the Employee Free CHOICE Act... because it will give the workers the CHOICE as to how a union is formed... either through 'card check' or private vote. Right now... the EMPLOYER gets to choose... and he/she should NOT be allowed to CHOOSE how the employees get to organize... since it is not in the employers interest that the employees organize.

[ewj1]

The employer does NOT choose. How unions are formed in the workplace is based on NLRB standards and all employees have the choice if they want to create a union. While it is very difficult it is not impossible.

I am for the Free Choice act with a few small changes (such as limiting the number of times an employee can be asked in year and being a little more specific how a employee is asked).

[EFCANOW]

Watch out for employers' attorneys writing as guest columnists on the Employee Free Choice Act.


For More Information on EFCA please visit our website and blog

http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org

http://efcanow.blogspot.com/

[lj9283]

Just for clarification:

EFCA preserves the secret ballot election process established by the National Labor Relations Board.

The law simply guarantees that workers also have the option to form a union through a "card-check" system in which a union would be recognized if a majority of workers signed a petition testifying to their desire to organize.

Under current law, workers can only form a union via the card-check system if their employer agrees to allow it.

EFCA would not effect businesses whose gross volume of sales is less than 3.3 million.

EFCA would give workers, not employers, the right to decide how to express the choice about going union: through the card-check process or through the NLRB election process.

[Okieborn]

I would Think Private !!!!

[AnnfromCA]

Voting private is a worker's right. Big labor is not going to persuade me one inch on this one, and Democrats should be very careful here.

I do NOT wish to see that fundamental respect for workers stripped by unions. They should not be allowed to go back to arm-twisting.

Either they can convince people that they offer a service or not. But the vote.......should be private.

[ummeli]

Kind of lame propaganda there, AnnfromCA. All anyone has to do is scroll up a bit to see the EFCA does not take away anybody's right to an election. It simply makes card-check a viable alternative.

If you're going to lie try to sound more convincing.

BTW, could we stop referring to it as "Big Labor"? Unions represent only 12% of the workforce. Nothing big about that. "Big labor" is just a label employers slap on unions to make them sound scary.

[DCTed]

As opposed to Big Business twisting arms and not respecting workers.

The way it works now when workers start to organize Big Business fires the leaders and scares the heck out of anyone left who was thinking about organizing. And they make their employees sit through hours of bad mouth the unions sessions.

Mind you all this is illegal but when the Dept. of Labor is run by people who are more concerned with businesses maximizing profits then with putting American's to work who is going to enforce labor laws

[AnnfromCA]

Two rights don't make a wrong.

This is not a hard issue.

Privacy in voting is a right that should NOT be stripped from workers.

I will not budge on this.

If that puts me opposite of unions, so be it.

They haven't ever shown much flexibility, so I expect to be opposed.

But.....They are dead-wrong on this one.