Organized labor is gearing up for the battle of the year: the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Across the country, there have been full-page ads advocating the passage of the Act, which would permit unions to organize workers based upon getting them to sign cards affirming that they want to be represented by unions. It would do away with secret-ballot elections administered by the NLRB. It doesn’t matter to the unions that secret-ballot elections are part of our democratic heritage. They just want to unionize as many workers as possible, which will significantly augment their coffers, which – in turn – will permit them to spend more on backing pro-union politicians.
If the labor movement is successful in getting the Act passed, one can expect to see an onslaught of organizing efforts in service-sector jobs, such as those found in health care, hotel and motels, restaurants, and janitorial and building maintenance work.
Passing the Act will prove negative for many companies, especially those that are competing in a global labor marketplace. High wage costs would, indeed, damage many businesses.
Corporate America has demonstrated, time and time again, that wages can increase organically through improved education and workplace competency, which produce higher levels of productivity, thus justifying higher wages and making unionization superfluous.
