The following article, written by our Strategic Business Partner, Bill Truesdell, is pretty straight talk about the proposed Employee Free Choice Act legislation and the new reality it will represent for many businesses if passed.

We realize this is not a new topic for most of you, however the clear and present "likelihood" of this piece of legislation soon becoming law looms ever more present with the new Congress coming back to work and a new administration taking over in little more than a week.

In addition to Bill's explanation of who might be affected by this act and why HR and business leaders should care, I would like to emphasize one of his points and add a second one to consider as you read this piece.

Strong management practices that meaningfully, consistently and continually address employees' changing needs are a proven approach to successfully managing a business and preventing the imposition of new requirements as described here.

Secondly, and in support of these management practices, two-way communications that openly and proactively solicit input from employees so that issues can be meaningfully addressed in your company is critical.

As Bill suggests it will be too late for some companies to avoid what may be coming, however enlightened businesses should take this article to heart and redouble efforts to ensure their relationships with their workforces and company culture are supportive, open and built on trust.

As always, we are interested in your comments.

— Rod Hanna, Principal, Merit Resource Group

Employee Free Choice Act May Get Green Light From New Congress

by William H. Truesdell, SPHR, President, The Management Advantage, Inc.

On Friday, December 19, 2008, President-Elect Obama introduced his choice for Secretary of Labor in his upcoming administration. He introduced Hilda L. Solis, currently the Representative to Congress from California's 32nd Congressional District. A Democrat, she stepped to the dais and said, "I am humbled and honored. As Secretary of Labor, I will work to strengthen our unions."

That should be a clear signal to employers everywhere in the country that Rep. Solis will be putting her weight behind the Employee Free Choice Act early in the Administration's agenda implementation. There is a version in the House of Representatives (HR 800) and another in the Senate (S-1041). In key provisions, they are the same. With the 111th Congress now is session, both bills are likely to be submitted again, high on the list of Democratic priorities. Mr. Obama has said he will sign the bill into law if Congress sends it to his desk.

Today, union organizing efforts follow rules laid down by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). One of the rules is that there must be a secret ballot election among eligible employees to determine if a union will be selected to represent the workers. A majority rules. Half plus one is enough to win that election. Prior to the vote, however, rules call for the union wishing to represent the employee group to ask workers to sign "show of interest cards" indicating there is enough support to warrant the expense of an election. During the period prior to the vote, both union and employer have the opportunity to present their viewpoints to workers, trying to win their vote, as in any other political election.

The Employee Free Choice Act will eliminate the voting step entirely. When that goes, so does the opportunity for the employer to present its case to workers. All that will be left is the need for the union to gather signatures on "show of interest cards" in a quantity that equals half plus one of the eligible workers. Under current proposals, that could be done covertly if the union wished to avoid public and employer scrutiny.

Who Will Be Affected?

Any employer that is not now involved with unions could find itself the target of these new organizing efforts. Some industries are already used to working with Unions representing their workers. Those include healthcare, heavy manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation, retail, education, and many others. That isn't to say all workers in those industries are represented by Unions. They aren't. And, those that are not will be active targets for Union organizing should the new law come to pass.

Industries that have avoided unionization efforts to a great extent include high technology, bio technology, and finance/banking. These will be the new targets for organizing efforts.

Why Should Employers Be Interested?

Unions were "invented" originally to combat the likes of Ebenezer Scrooge. It should come as no surprise that there are still employers in this country who are abusing workers with extraordinarily bad management practices. It is these employers who should expect the upcoming organizing efforts to start in their organizations.

Any company that has had to downsize its workforce, freeze or reduce wages or bonus allotments, change its healthcare benefit package, or modify its retirement plan will also be a fertile target for Union organizing activities.

Human Resource Professionals must be alert to any changes in the workforce that will cause dissatisfaction. If Union promises of corrective action and protection sound like life savers to your employees you may find yourself dealing with a Union in the future. For many employers, it is already too late. They have engrained cultures that disrespect workers, use them like reams of paper and toner cartridges, then throw them in the dust bin when fully consumed and no longer valuable.

If you value people as much as your CEO's annual report statement says you do, then you will have a solid program of management skills training, mentoring and development programs and methods for assuring disciplinary actions are applied uniformly throughout the organization. If you break one link in that chain of "good management practices" you may find yourself hearing about union organizing only when the "show of interest cards" are presented as the fait accompli and you will then have to bargain with workers through their Union.

"Good" employers, those that make the list of best places to work, will be striving each day to earn and retain the trust of their employees. There is no stronger reason to ask for union representation than a feeling of helplessness. Someone who feels his or her contributions don't matter, that their opinion doesn't count, and that their personal needs have no place in workplace decisions will usually ask for Union help out of frustration with the workplace environment. And, that may just be a lot easier for them to do in the future.

©2008 William H. Truesdell, SPHR, President, The Management Advantage, Inc.
Strategic Business Partner with Merit Resource Group, Inc.
aap@merithr.com