Card Check Introduced in House, Senate
Democrats in both the House of Representatives and Senate Tuesday introduced the Employee Free Choice Act, an act that would make it easier for employees to join unions, Bloomberg reported.
Rep. George Miller (Calif.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) introduced the legislation Monday in their respective houses, Bloomberg said. Harkin expects the Senate to act on the legislation after the Easter recess in April.
The measure would amend the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and allow workers to form a union if a majority of employees sign a card expressing their approval. It would prohibit employers from requiring a secret ballot election, which is currently allowed under NLRA.
The act, commonly called “Card Check,” includes other pro-labor provisions, such as harsher penalties for employers who engage in anti-union activity, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement.
American Trucking Associations joins groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business in its opposition to the legislation.
ATA “staunchly believe[s] that it is not a good piece of legislation for business in general [and] for our country [because of] the effect it can have on the global competitiveness as a nation and obviously for our companies as individuals,” David Congdon, president of Old Dominion Freight Line, told Transport Topics in February. Congdon is also an ATA vice president at large.
In the last Congress, the legislation failed in the Senate, where it received 51 votes, nine short of the 60 needed to end debate and act on the bill, Bloomberg said.
Every Democrat present voted for the act, as did two independents and one Republican. The Senate now has 58 Democrats.
