Revolution in US Labour Law: Employee Free Choice Act

The Employee Free Choice Act, the most important piece of labour legislation in the United States since the National Labour Relations Act, has recently been passed after more than five hours of historic debate by a margin of 241–185. Thirteen Republicans joined 228 Democrats in voting for the bill.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi had this to say...

Democrats believe we must make our economy fairer. We took the first step in our first 100 hours, with a strong bipartisan vote to increase the minimum wage. And today, we take the next step, with a strong bipartisan vote to ensure that America’s working families have the right to organize. The right to organize means a better future for them, and for all us. It means a future that is economically and socially just, a future where the workplace is safe, a future where our retirement is secure.

And AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the House vote:

…marks a momentous turning point in the growing movement to restore our nation’s middle class. Today, the voices of tens of millions of working people who deserve the right to make a free choice to bargain for a better life have been heard and heeded on Capitol Hill. Because of today’s vote, the future looks a little brighter to all Americans who have watched corporations celebrate record profits, but have themselves been shut out of the party, left with stagnant wages and facing soaring costs. A union card is the single best ticket into the middle- class and, thanks to the Employee Free Choice Act, working people may finally have the chance to be part of a union.

While I fundamentally disagree with Sweeney's class analysis, in that he has bought into the capitalist view of the so-called middle class, thus somehow denying that union members are always working class, I'm happy that this act passed at it will allow many more workers to reap the benefits of being a member of a trade union.

You can read more fully about the act here, though the main two provisions involve the certification of a union as the exclusive representative of employees without an election where "a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations" and would require parties who cannot agree upon the terms of a first collective bargaining contract within 120 days to submit the issues to an arbitration board, which would be empowered to settle the dispute.

Perhaps this will help to increase a union density rate that has seen significant declines in recent years. It currently stands at 12%.