The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region, strongly opposes H.R. 800/S. 1041, the "Employee Free Choice Act," which is expected to be reintroduced and considered in the early part of the 111th Congress. The Chamber urges you to oppose this legislation, and not cosponsor this legislation.

The bill consists of three provisions, each of which is unacceptable:

Elimination of Secret Ballot: This legislation mandates that a union be recognized if a majority of employees in a designated bargaining unit sign authorization cards. If this provision is enacted, the current system where a federally supervised election process with secret ballots determines whether employees will have a union in their workplace would be effectively eliminated.

Writing contracts through government imposed arbitration: The second provision would result in contracts being written by federal arbitrators instead of the process of collective bargaining and negotiating. Currently, after a union has been recognized, the parties bargain to a first contract where there are protections to make sure both sides negotiate in good faith. Under EFCA, if a first contract is not agreed to within 120 days the matter would be submitted to binding interest arbitration and a contract developed by a panel with likely no understanding of the business, or the competitive forces it faces, would be imposed on the company for two years.

Unreasonable and one-sided penalty expansion: Finally, the Employee Free Choice Act imposes dramatic new penalties on employers for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, but not a single new penalty on unions or labor organizers..

For more information, analysts, and polling data.

This link offers more information: http://www.uschamber.com/issues/index/labor/cardchecksecrbal
View this link of Union Organizers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1b2UtZ2S6Q&eurl=http://spin-1.ning.com/profiles/blogs/efca-employees-free-choice-act
Link for Writing your Congressmen: http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
Link for Writing your Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

We urge you and your employees to join our team to learn more and to fight to preserve the future of our businesses (this is a public, free membership): http://spin-1.ning.com/