National Nurses United

EFCA:1 12/19/08 10:08 AM Page 10 Holding All the Cards If RNs and other workers help pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), labor will win the best organizing tool to come along in a generation. W ith the election season fresh in our minds, signatures against a list of eligible voters provided by the employer; let's picture another election scenario. Imagine that's why EFCA is often called the "card check" bill. The bill would a race where you, the voter, must choose also send negotiations to a mediator or arbitrator if workers have between Candidate A and Candidate B. Both trouble getting the employer to bargain a first contract. EFCA passed the House of Representatives during the last session of candidates court you in typical ways, such as distributing literature or holding meetings. Congress, but couldn't muster the votes needed in the Senate. Now that But, wait, it so happens that you work for Can- the composition of Congress has changed and a president more sympadidate A. Yup, Candidate A signs your pay- thetic to workers' interests has been elected, labor is ramping up in a big checks and has the power to change your work hours and conditions, way to win what could be the most powerful tool to come along in a genand to hire, promote, or fire. And because you spend at least eight eration for unionizing workers. The AFL-CIO is collecting one million hours a day at Candidate A's company, Candidate A can talk to you signatures in support of EFCA, and is launching a major legislative, any time he wants, and even require you to attend meetings where public relations, and educational campaign to encourage union memCandidate A can espouse how great he is and what a lousy choice bers and the public to contact their elected officials to pass the bill. "Companies routinely intimidate, harass, coerce, and even fire Candidate B would be. Sound ridiculous? What kind of dysfunctional election system is people who try to form unions—and current labor law is helpless to stop them," reads a recent AFL-CIO flyer on the merits of EFCA. this anyway? It's the method by which workers currently unionize in a secret "The penalties are so slight that corporations simply consider it the ballot election held by the National Labor Relations Board, and the cost of doing business." Even if employers lose against valid election method that thousands of CNA/NNOC have had to endure in order to objections, they've still succeeded in dragging out the process and bought themselves more time to spread doubt in voters' minds. Corwin collective bargaining rights for themselves. "To an outsider, a secret ballot election sounds so reasonable, but porations and business interests intend to spend about $200 million it's an inherently undemocratic process," said David Welch, a cardiac as an industry on anti-EFCA efforts, estimates the AFL-CIO. Indeed, many companies will spend millions of dollars on consultrehabilitation RN at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Calif. The nurses at Enloe suffered an intense, eight-month-long union-busting cam- ants trained to defeat organizing drives even though it would probably paign before their successful election in 2000. "It's really an election be less expensive to accept unionization of its workers. RNs report where one side has so much power over the lives of the voters. They that union busters adopt a fairly predictable plan of attack to scare and control access to the voters and can demand that nurses attend their pressure workers to reject the union. They usually start by beefing up meetings. The union has to compete for a little of the nurses' free security at the hospital to unnecessary levels—not only to create an time." Under these circumstances, said Welch, the fact that nurses atmosphere of surveillance but also to block union organizers' access still vote in favor of unions is a testament to how badly they want to to nurses. The security at one Southern California hospital even used change working conditions and command some power and respect at German shepherd police dogs. They constantly crank out misleading anti-union literature, sometimes veiled as "official" government matethe workplace. Nurses and other workers hoping to organize may soon get to jet- rials, which they review at mandatory group or one-on-one meetings. They force unit managers to help persuade tison the old ways, however. One of the labor RNs to vote against the union, to make prommovement's preliminary goals in working To find out more about the ises to improve and give the hospital a second with President-elect Barack Obama's adminEmployee Free Choice Act and chance, to punish union supporters, to even istration is to pass the Employee Free Choice to sign the million member cry and say they'll lose their jobs if the RNs Act (EFCA), federal legislation that would petition, go to the AFL-CIO's EFCA vote in favor of organizing. In the final weeks allow workers another route to unionization before an election, activities really intensify by simply collecting a majority of signed page at www.aflcio.org/ and consultants usually resort to tricks such authorization cards in favor of the union. A joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/. as anonymous attack literature or making neutral third party matches the cards and 10 REGISTERED NURSE W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G DECEMBER 2008

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