Major Change in Unionization Rules —Fiorenza

But to say that a secret ballot vote on whether to become a union member is somehow tantamount to a “veto” of such a decision makes no sense. In fact, if the EFCA becomes law, employees will be forced to “choose” to become union members by openly signing authorization cards. Such a system seems much more prone to abuse than the current one, which allows workers to vote their conscience in the security of a secret ballot voting booth.

Moreover, all of the “coercive” tactics often attributed to employers are all illegal under the current law, and aggressively guarded against by the NLRB. For example, under current law, if any employer were to “fire or harass workers, [or] threaten [to] close the workplace, in order to coerce workers into voting against a union,” the NLRB could, at a minimum, nullify any such vote, and either require a new secret ballot or automatically install the union at the employer’s worksite.

The fact is: Times have changed. Our society has changed. Our economy has changed. Our technology has changed. All of these factors have played a role in the decline of union membership in today’s workplace. The EFCA is an attempt to change the “rules of engagement” that have existed for 70 years to artificially tip the balance of power in favor of unions.

How much of a “free choice” is that? PI

—NICHOLAS FIORENZA

About the Author
Nicholas J. Fiorenza is managing partner of the employment law firm of Ferrara, Fiorenza, Larrison, Barrett & Reitz, P.C., and longtime association counsel to the Printing and Imaging Association of New York State and its members. He is also president of Delacroix Consulting Group, the human resources consulting component of the law firm. For more information, visit www.ferrarafirm.com.