Employee Free Choice Act

Donate now to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act!

What's the Employee Free Choice Act?

The labor laws in the United States are clearly broken. 60 million Americans say they would join a union if the could, but few ever will. The Employee Free Choice Act is a bill in Congress that would fix our labor laws in three key ways, and would level the playing field so that American workers who want the opportunity to join with their coworkers to bargain for a better life will have a fair chance at doing so.

The Employee Free Choice Act will:

  • Let workers decide how to form a union

    Right now, if the majority of workers sign cards designating a specific union as their representative those cards are taken to management, and the bosses decide if they will recognize the union or call for a union election. It's important to understand that a union election is very different from a political election - you are voting for or against having a specific union represent you and your coworkers, not between two groups, and generally the person who controls your paycheck has a very strong opinion that they want you to support and will go to great lengths to make sure you understand that

    Under the Employee Free Choice Act, the workers deciding whether or not to form a union will decide if the signing of cards supporting the union is sufficient, or if they'd like to hold an election instead

  • Ensure that workers get a first contract

    After a vote to form a union, anyone who opposes the union must wait one full year before they can ask for a second vote in the hopes to vote down the union. Currently companies can drag out negotiations, refuse to compromise and make the workplace unbearable for a full year. After that year they can reach out to any anti-union employees and get them to file for an election on behalf of the company. After a year of the company not listening, and sometimes making the workplace even more hostile than it was before workers formed a union, these votes often get rid of the union

    If a company negotiates in good faith, tries to find a compromise with workers, and everyone settles on contract language within the first year, the workplace usually improves and workers, with their union, have the opportunity to talk about workplace changes with management for years to come

    The Employee Free Choice Act will ensure that workers and management agree on this important first contract. If workers and management can't agree on their own they go to a mediator who tries to help them through negotiations. If the mediator can't help everyone compromise the workers and the company both give their proposals to an arbitrator who creates a first contract. Workers and management are bound to that contract for the first year, or until both groups agree to reopen negotiations

  • Create real penalties that deter companies from breaking labor laws

    It is too easy for companies to break labor law. The punishments, if the illegal actions are even reported and found to be true, are so small that they don't deter illegal behavior. The Employee Free Choice Act will increase fines and back-pay for common violations of labor law, discouraging companies from taking illegal actions and protecting workers

Help Get The Message Out

Big businesses are already shoveling millions of dollars into a media campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act. We need to educate Oregonians about why this Act is so important. Get involved and help out!

  • [Donate] (https://secure.ga6.org/08/turnaroundamericafund?source=taafundwebpage) to the Employee Free Choice Act media campaign so we can get ads on the air in key states. After you [make a donation] (https://secure.ga6.org/08/turnaroundamericafund?source=taafundwebpage) send the link to your friends and ask them to help out!

  • Write a letter to the Editor of your local news paper in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Let Elana know if you want some help drafting a letter, we'd be happy to help you out! We're hoping to send in letters on a rolling basis, so if you'd like to send a letter in the future let Elana know and we'll get in touch with you in a couple of weeks!

  • Let all your friends, family members and neighbors know why the Employee Free Choice Act is so important. Talk to them about leveling the playing field, about giving the choice in how to form a union back to the workers - the people who's choice it should be, and about making sure that our country's laws are strong enough to deter illegal activity. Email us for more talking points.

What's Happening With the Employee Free Choice Act?

  • March 10th - Employee Free Choice Act introduced in both the House and the Senate

Read the Text

House Version
Senate Version