Unions stand to gain from proposed legislation

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

Ann Andersen, a registered nurse in the emergency department of Naples Community Hospital in Florida, wanted a union so nurses at the facility could have more say about patient care.

She figured the nurses there were on their way to forming one after more than 50 percent of the workers signed union cards. Organizers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Aug. 30, 2007, to hold an election.

But more than a year later, the nurses still haven’t been able to hold a vote.

The Service Employees International Union, the group organizing the Naples nurses, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year claiming unfair labor practices.

But the hospital denies that it has delayed organizing efforts.

“We don’t believe there is a need for outsiders to intervene in our institution," says spokeswoman Debbie Curry. “For months we’ve wished a vote was immediate to eliminate any distractions from our primary job, which is to care for patients.”

To Anderson, who says hospital officials are using delaying tactics and even intimidating nurses who want a union, the delay in the union vote “doesn’t make sense.”

“We followed the law. We did what we were supposed to do, but clearly the law doesn’t work.”

This sentiment is familiar among workers seeking to form unions. But legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act could speed up the process by giving workers the option of bypassing a formal vote and imposing hefty fines on employers that violate employee rights.

Labor groups hail the legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), as a boon for the struggling labor movement in the United States. Employer groups see it as a kiss of death for companies that want to remain union-free.

There’s a good chance the next president will either make or break the act, also known as EFCA or the card-check bill. Barack Obama has come out in support of the bill, while John McCain opposes it.

Regardless of how you feel about unions, it's a good idea to understand what’s at stake.

“It’s about leveling the playing field so workers can share in the prosperity,” says Anna Burger, the SEIU’s secretary-treasurer, who believes the act will open the door to more unions. “Unions are what created the middle class with the right for workers to organize.”

One management law firm, Pepper Hamilton, recently sent out an alert to employers written by attorney Jonathan Kane stating, “Because EFCA poses a significant threat to union-free employers, companies should mobilize to fight efforts making it the law of the land.”

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