Employee Free Choice Act

This is scary. I'll admit to getting in on this story just today, but it really looks as though that I may not be alone. I first heard about this bill on CNBC this morning and subsequently went looking around the web to find an article that I could read on the subject. The fact that it took me more than a minute to find one is worrying. This is a very important subject and it's not getting nearly enough attention if you ask me.

At issue is the ability of a company's employees to certify a union without the need for a secret ballot that is currently required by law. Under the new legislation, a union could be certified without the company ever knowing about the registration drive until it was all over. This is a big, BIG, deal. If you run a company or invest in one, you want to watch this closely. What's worrying, however, is that one of the articles that I did find refers to this as an "obscure" bill; how can this possibly be obscure? It has the ability to transform the business landscape ...and no, that's not an exaggeration.

Further empowering unions will dramatically affect companies nationally. On CNBC this morning, they were interviewing the founders of Home Depot and they put it very bluntly. To paraphrase, they explained that this bill, if passed, would mean that a union could become certified and then install arbitrators that would set the wage rates for the company. Notice, that management did not enter into this equation. Could you imagine what this could mean for some companies? Could you imagine being a fledgling business, struggling to survive against your larger incumbent competitors, and learning that your employees just certified a union and that you would now be told what to pay your employees? This is exactly the issue at hand and it deserves far greater attention than what is currently getting.

Fortunately, it appears as though there are more than a couple of organizations ramping-up advertising campaigns to educate the public about the bill and its consequences. The fact is that this has already passed the house and only remains to pass the Senate before becoming law.