President Barack Obama is changing the landscape of labor law through several actions that have been viewed as payback to organized labor for its support of his candidacy.
“Unions spent millions of dollars getting him elected and getting a senate that was more democratic-leaning in the hopes of passing primarily one major bill: the Employee Free Choice Act,” says Mike Stief, a partner with a specialty in labor and employment law at Jackson Lewis LLP.
EFCA passed the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress, but it fell short in the Senate. The act, as it was originally intended, is most likely not going to pass in the current Congressional session, nor anywhere in the near term, so the Obama administration has gone down the path of generatting labor law reform in several other different ways.
Smart Business spoke to Stief about how these reforms are affecting employers.
What are the goals of EFCA?
Basically, what EFCA would do, among other things, is change the way people join unions in this country. Historically, people have joined unions by voting in secret ballot, government-conducted elections. EFCA would take away that right by removing anonymity from the process. Under EFCA, in its current form, once a majority of employees signed union cards, the union would be recognized without an election.
If the bill doesn’t seem likely to pass, how is the president effectuating change?
Shortly after taking office, President Obama signed four executive orders which apply to certain federal contractors and certain subcontractors. There are several ways to get things accomplished. You can pass legislation to get things changed, but if you are a federal contractor, the president also has the option of signing an executive order and you may be bound. You’re receiving federal money, so the government has certain rights to impose obligations on you.
One such executive order is Order No. 13496, which came into effect on June 21, 2010. It requires federal contractors with contracts over $100,000 and certain subcontractors to post a notice in the workplace advising employees of their right to organize into a union. That is one significant aspect or payback, if you will. Now when employees walk by the time clock or bulletin board in the break room, they will be staring at a notice of their right to organize into a union, day in and day out.
