What is EFCA? The Long & Short

Not everyone is up-to-speed about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). How one defines it depends upon your position, pro-business or pro-labor. Here are two different perspectives that epitomize the distinction:

Pro-Business Source: SHRM, Society for Human Resource Management
Gist: “SHRM strongly opposes the Employee Free Choice Act”
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1. Require the NLRB to certify a union without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have signed authorization cards in support of the union,
2. Require binding arbitration on first contracts after 90 days of collective bargaining and 30 days of mediation, and
3. Increase penalties, including back pay plus liquidated damages, on employers that commit unfair labor practices against employees during organizing drives.

Pro-Labor Source: Committee on Education & Labor
Gist:  “Strengthening America’s Middle Class by Helping Workers Bargain…”
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1. Gives workers the choice of whether to form a union through majority sign-up or through the National Labor Relations Board election process.
2. Guarantees a first union contract through mediation and arbitration
3. Strengthens penalties for violations against workers who are trying to organize or negotiate a first contract

Both definitions are technically correct… yet approach EFCA from very different viewpoints.

What Would Change Under EFCA?

Reading those positions does not tell the whole story if one is unfamiliar with current labor law in America. As proposed, EFCA represents the most sweeping changes in labor law in a half century. Some say it would increase union influence to levels not seen since 1947. Here are the key changes worth noting:

1. Employees can be approached by union organizers and sign cards without an employer’s knowledge; that signature is a de facto vote for unionization (a major shift) because a subsequent secret ballot election is no longer required.
2. Collective bargaining agreements typically take one year or longer to negotiate; with this legislation, the parties would only have 90 days – after which (presumably federal) arbitrators would step in to determine wages and benefit that companies would be legally obligated to honor.
3. Employers would face triple fines for “unfair labor practices”; unions would not face any. Companies are restricted in what they can say or do; unions are not.

Learn More in Summary Fashion

Still don’t get it? Trust me, it took several years for me to grasp the nuance of labor law. There’s a great executive summary on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) that is constantly updated at HRHero.com (DISCLOSURE: I recently penned an article for the April edition of their publication, HR Insight, and will present an audio conference for them on May 13).