Comments on: Employee Free Choice Act – If Voting Is So Bad, Why Does the CWA Force Its Own Employees To Vote? http://lrionline.com/employee-free-choice-act-if-voting-is Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:51:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The New Joe Brock / Doug McLaughlin Team http://lrionline.com/employee-free-choice-act-if-voting-is/comment-page-1#comment-2196 The New Joe Brock / Doug McLaughlin Team Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:50:00 +0000 http://lrionline.com/employee-free-choice-act-if-voting-is-so-bad-why-does-the-cwa-force-its-own-employees-to-vote#comment-2196 As a former union official with the Teasmters Union, i'm not in the least bit surprised that the CWA wants a full blown election. Union leadership has a sad history when it comes to practicing what they preach. When faced with their own employees asking for formal representation, union bosses think that they're above the law, and can be quite merciless. They know all of the tricks, and they use them freely on their own employees. <br/><br/>As far as card check goes, the act as it stands today would be an incredible stroke of good fortune for unions. Not because employees will suddenly feel emboldened to exercise their free speech. They won't. It will be because unions will be able to manipulate the process much more effectively through the signing of the cards. As an experienced and successful organizer, I knew that I could get all the cards I needed. If I needed a few more in order to secure an election, I could get it by hook or crook. Not to give away all of my trade secrets, but cards are easy to get signed. Sometimes the employee didn't even know! The signing of cards is a poor measurement of employee interest. <br/><br/>As far as arbitrators deciding first contracts, there is an inherent danger to any business today when the fortunes of the company and its employees are decided by a "disinterested third part." All is fair in contract negotiations, and the process in place allows both sides to control their own destiny. While most arbitrators are fair and have a high degree of integrity, they ARE human, and are therefore subject to the politics by those who control their income. For the most parts, that's the union because Arbitrators will get hundreds of cases through the union, but rarely will have a lot of work with one particular company. If they have to piss off somebody, the company will be the odd man out, perhaps even to the detriment of the company. Ironically, that leaves the employees out in the street as a result of a decision that wasn't theirs. As a former union official with the Teasmters Union, i’m not in the least bit surprised that the CWA wants a full blown election. Union leadership has a sad history when it comes to practicing what they preach. When faced with their own employees asking for formal representation, union bosses think that they’re above the law, and can be quite merciless. They know all of the tricks, and they use them freely on their own employees.

As far as card check goes, the act as it stands today would be an incredible stroke of good fortune for unions. Not because employees will suddenly feel emboldened to exercise their free speech. They won’t. It will be because unions will be able to manipulate the process much more effectively through the signing of the cards. As an experienced and successful organizer, I knew that I could get all the cards I needed. If I needed a few more in order to secure an election, I could get it by hook or crook. Not to give away all of my trade secrets, but cards are easy to get signed. Sometimes the employee didn’t even know! The signing of cards is a poor measurement of employee interest.

As far as arbitrators deciding first contracts, there is an inherent danger to any business today when the fortunes of the company and its employees are decided by a “disinterested third part.” All is fair in contract negotiations, and the process in place allows both sides to control their own destiny. While most arbitrators are fair and have a high degree of integrity, they ARE human, and are therefore subject to the politics by those who control their income. For the most parts, that’s the union because Arbitrators will get hundreds of cases through the union, but rarely will have a lot of work with one particular company. If they have to piss off somebody, the company will be the odd man out, perhaps even to the detriment of the company. Ironically, that leaves the employees out in the street as a result of a decision that wasn’t theirs.

]]> By: USpace http://lrionline.com/employee-free-choice-act-if-voting-is/comment-page-1#comment-2195 USpace Thu, 28 Jun 2007 06:15:00 +0000 http://lrionline.com/employee-free-choice-act-if-voting-is-so-bad-why-does-the-cwa-force-its-own-employees-to-vote#comment-2195 Good post, well put, this Act is a sham. And the Dems claim to be friends of the working man, what a lie...<br/><br/>absurd thought -<br/>God of the Universe says<br/>destroy secret ballots<br/><br/>take away the private vote<br/>workers deserve no such rights<br/>. Good post, well put, this Act is a sham. And the Dems claim to be friends of the working man, what a lie…

absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
destroy secret ballots

take away the private vote
workers deserve no such rights
.

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