For many people, the thought of losing the right to cast a private vote on something as important as union representation is inconsistent with the democratic principles on which our nation was founded.
For some workers, no voice at all on the matter of union representation
In the current union organizing process, signing a union card means you may be interested in joining a union. It is not a binding "yes" or "no" vote. If you sign the card, you know you will have a chance to cast your "official" vote in private, in a secret ballot election.
Under Card Check, signing an authorization card is your chance to voice your opinion on the matter of union representation -- provided you are asked to sign a card.
Under Card Check, unions have no obligation to give every worker an opportunity to say "yes" or "no" to the union. All the union has to do is collect signed cards from half the eligible workers plus one in a targeted bargaining unit. If it does and presents those cards to the labor board, the union must be recognized as the official representative of all workers in the bargaining unit.
In some union campaigns, some workers will have no voice on the matter of union representation.
Fewer opportunities for information sharing and discussion
Under current law, if 30 percent of eligible workers sign union authorization cards, the National Labor Relations Board schedules a secret ballot election. Prior to the election, there is an educational period in which both the union and the employer can communicate directly with workers about the pros and cons of union representation. Workers have time to listen, learn, ask questions, and talk with their coworkers and their families about which option is best for them. The educational period usually lasts at least 30 days.
Under Card Check, this period of information sharing and discussion will be eliminated.
Peer pressure, intimidation, coercion
Under the current system, the secret ballot creates the conditions for both union leaders and management representatives to behave fairly during the union organizing efforts. If either side uses pressure, intimidation, or scare tactics, workers can reject that behavior in the secret ballot election.
Card Check would make public your personal decision for or against a union and could possibly expose you, and maybe also your family, to peer pressure, intimidation or coercion.
Who decides your wages, benefits and work rules?
Card Check's mandatory binding arbitration provision could end up giving workers less of a voice on important issues such as wages, benefits, and work conditions.
Under current collective bargaining rules, workers ultimately have a chance to vote for or against the contract the union negotiates. Card Check would take away that right. Instead, a government-appointed third party would intervene if the employer and the union fail to agree on contract terms after 90 days of negotiations and one party seeks mediation. If no agreement is reached after 30 days of mediation, the federal government would appoint an arbitration board that would impose a binding contract that neither the employer, nor the union, nor the workers could change for up to two years (unless both sides later agree).
CLICK HERE to learn about the impact Card Check will have on employers.