Retailers are anxious about the upcoming election for a number of reasons including the distinct possibility that a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House could lead to the passage of a bill that would make it considerably easier for labor unions to organize retail workers.
The bill known as the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800), sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D - CA) and co-sponsored by 233 members of Congress, was passed by a vote of 230 to 195 in the House of Representatives in March 2007. A Senate version (S. 1041) sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy and co-sponsored by 43 others, including Sen. Barack Obama, did not pass but is likely to be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.
The bill is intended to establish a system that sanctions a union to represent workers if a majority of employees sign authorization cards. Under the current system, employers can either recognize unions that have gotten a majority of workers to sign cards or they can demand a secret ballot election. Unions have long argued that a call for a secret ballot ultimately lends to unfair practices on the part of employers seeking to keep organized labor out. Companies winning such elections have said that workers given the choice to vote for or against union representation have simply chosen to stick with the status quo.
A law similar to the Employee Free Choice Act is in place in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
Louis Bolduc, a spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, told The (Montreal) Gazette that card-based certification doesn't always mean a store will be organized but that it makes it easier.
Discussion Question: What are your thoughts on the Employee Free Choice Act? What would it mean for the retailing business? Would it have an impact on consumers?