Labor unions provide a powerful voice for all working Americans. A union is a voluntary association of workers with a collective voice to counterbalance the power of employers.
Unionists stood on the front lines of the struggles for the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, employer-provided health insurance and pensions, safe workplaces, Social Security, paid vacations and holidays, overtime pay and Family and Medical Leave. Communities with strong unions have higher living standards for everyone.
In 1935, American workers finally secured the right to organize or join a union and to bargain with their employers over wages, hours and working conditions. Organized workers earn nearly 30 percent more than non-union employees. In addition, they are much more likely to have health insurance and a pension plan.
Union membership peaked in the mid-1950s at 35 percent of the work force. Today it stands at only 12 percent. Despite the decline in membership, the desire to unionize has grown -- from 30 percent of nonunion workers in the mid-1980s
| Advertisement |
|---|
|
|
The yawning gap between the robust demand to join unions and the anemic membership numbers reflects the fact that, for many Americans, joining a union has become a risk rather than a right. Over the years, workers have experienced increasing employers' interference in the process of securing certification and a first contract.
Under current law, workers deciding whether they want a union have two options, an election or majority sign-up.
When 30 percent of the workers want a union, they can sign cards and an election is held. The time between filing a petition and holding an election becomes an "interval of intimidation" when unscrupulous employers routinely break labor laws to maintain union-free workplaces.
Union supporters often face intimidation, harassment and discrimination. The government found that companies violated the rights of nearly 30,000 workers in 2007, roughly five times as many compared to 1967.
According to a recent study,
80 percent of employers combat employee organizing drives by hiring consultants to conduct anti-union campaigns. The tactics include firing pro-union workers, forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings and threatening to close work sites.
When a majority of workers sign cards declaring their support, employers can legally recognize the union. For anti-union employers, however, insisting on an election becomes a way to reverse employee preference.
Even when workers prevail in a union election, one-third of employers use delaying tactics to deny workers a first contract. And employers have no incentive to change their behavior because the penalties for violating workers' rights are so weak they simply become a minor cost of doing business.
Congress is now considering the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). This measure modifies labor law to stop the abuses and lawbreaking and provide stronger protections for workers' rights. Two recent polls show majority public support for the EFCA, 53 percent in the Gallup Poll and 73 in the Peter Hart Poll.
The EFCA gives the right to choose the method -- election or majority sign-up -- to workers and unions, not the employers. Employees can continue to utilize the election process under new procedures providing faster relief from violations of workers' rights. But when a majority of workers sign authorization cards, they would gain prompt recognition for their union.
The EFCA also improves remedies for workers who face discrimination, economic coercion or retaliation when they seek to organize or obtain a first contract. The EFCA would sharply increase monetary penalties against employers who violate labor laws when workers organize. And it would provide the option of mediation and arbitration if the employer and union fail to reach agreement on a first contract.
The EFCA provides a fair, open and direct process to gauge employee sentiment on union representation. It restores working Americans' right to make their own decisions about whether to form and join a union. Strengthening free choice in the workplace lays the foundation for ensuring a more prosperous economy and a stronger democracy.
Scharnau teaches U.S. history at Northeast Iowa Community College, Peosta.
