Employee Free Choice Act

Chamber Position

Congress is considering legislation that will have a negative impact on business. After careful consideration of presentations from proponents and opponents, your Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead opposes the Employee Free Choice Act. If enacted, it would eliminate an individual’s right to a secret ballot when forming a union.

Facts about the Employee Free Choice Act:

It would mandate binding arbitration if a majority of employees provide signatures asking for union representation. Currently, collecting a majority of signatures triggers an election, where voters decide by secret ballot.
In addition to current remedies provided for in the National Labor Relations Act, the Employee Free Choice Act imposes civil penalties (up to $20,000 per incident) against employers who are found to have discriminated against an employee seeking representation by a labor organization.
It eliminates the employer’s right and opportunity to make a case for or against unionization.
The current National Labor Relations Act is equitable to both employers and union workers and provides remedies to workers facing contract violations.

Informative Online Articles:

We encourage you to become more familiar with this legislation and to let your members of Congress know how it could impact your business. For additional information, contact Jessica Lee at 218.359.0511 or jlee@fmwfchamber.com.