Report from the bloggers' conference call on EFCA and cash for union coffers

There's a lot wrong with the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. If passed, it will take away workers' decades-old right to a secret ballot to determine if they want to join a union, replacing it with a "free to peek" petition drive, known as card check. EFCA can be viewed as a scheme to fund failing union pension funds. And it could end up forcing binding arbitration on businesses, which could end up burdening businesses, particularly small firms, with unanticipated costs that could drive them out of existence.

EFCA is not something our economy needs. Ever. Especially at a time when we are suffering from a brutal recession.

Yesterday I took part in another Workforce Fairness Institute conference call.

Much of what was discussed is explained in an article published in The Hill yesterday.

From that article:

EFCA's passage into law could generate billions of additional dollars for unions to spend on political activity to advance their agenda. And for those union leaders whose pension funds have been mismanaged, EFCA's passage would also amount to a massive government-engineered bailout of their financial mismanagement.

That it would do. But Katie Packer of the Institute reminded callers that EFCA should really be called "the Employee FORCED Choice Act."

I was able to get in a question this time, and I how an enacted EFCA would effect the unemployment rate.

WFI's Mark McKinnon cited a study from Canada--which has a card check law--and told me "for every three percent increase in union membership, the following year unemployment went up by one percent."

The way I look at it, EFCA's supporters are on the defensive. But the bill is down, not out.

EFCA is bad for business, and bad for workers--who wants higher unemployment?

Even without the Employee FORCED Choice Act, our unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 25 years.

Related posts:

Report from the bloggers' conference call on EFCA and under-funded pensions
SEIU prez: Union spent $60.7 million to elect Obama
George McGovern: "The ‘Free Choice’ Act Is Anything But"
Report from the bloggers' conference call about Employee FORCED Choice binding arbitration
Report from the bloggers' confernce call about card check
Former union organizer talks about card check
Nonsense from a South Dakota AFL-CIO official about card check
Minority business groups coming out against card check
Sen. Mitch McConnell on card check
Card check update: "A mortal threat to American freedom"
Blagojevich and union "card check"
Employee "free choice" may drive economic uncertainty

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