Bill Text: PA SR61 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expressing opposition to Federal labor legislation eliminating secret ballots or requiring compulsory arbitration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 14-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-04-01 - Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY [SR61 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SR61-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 817
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 61 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY FOLMER, M. WHITE, BAKER, ALLOWAY, VANCE, PICCOLA, SMUCKER, EICHELBERGER, BRUBAKER, BROWNE, CORMAN, WAUGH, YAW AND D. WHITE, APRIL 1, 2009
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 1, 2009
A RESOLUTION
Expressing opposition to Federal labor legislation eliminating
secret ballots or requiring compulsory arbitration.
WHEREAS, In the 110th Congress, bills enacting the Employee
Free Choice Act of 2007 contained language that proposed
amending the National Labor Relations Act (49 Stat. 449, 29
U.S.C. § 151 et seq.) to require the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB) to certify a labor union as the exclusive
representative of employees if it presents union authorization
cards signed by a majority of employees without the benefit of a
government-supervised secret ballot election and to utilize
binding arbitration to impose an initial contract if either
party in a collective bargaining negotiation requests mediation,
and such mediation is not successful; and
WHEREAS, Current Federal law requires that the NLRB conduct a
secret ballot election to determine the will of employees if a
petition for a representation election is filed by an individual
or union and the petition is supported by a showing of interest
by at least 30% of employees stating that they want to be
represented by a union or if an employer requests a
representation election because it doubts a union's claim that a
majority of its workers want union representation, with the
claim based on signed union authorization cards; and
WHEREAS, The bills in the 110th Congress enacting the
Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 proposed creating a card-check
union certification process, which would have effectively
changed the National Labor Relations Act to eliminate an
employer's right to request a secret ballot election in cases
where it has reasonable doubt as to the validity of a union's
claim to be recognized as the collective bargaining agent based
on presentation of union authorization cards; and
WHEREAS, Such a change to the National Labor Relations Act
would hinder, not promote, employee free choice by depriving
employees of their long-established right to a secret ballot
election in contested situations; and
WHEREAS, A secret ballot election ensures that all workers
can hear arguments from the employer and union, have time for
reflection and then vote their conscience without pressure or
fear of retaliation; and
WHEREAS, The card-check process essentially eliminates an
employer's ability to discuss with employees the employer’s view
of union representation in violation of the employer's First
Amendment rights and, thus, prevents employees from receiving
all available facts or information on which to make an informed
decision; and
WHEREAS, The secret ballot election ensures that all
employees in a collective bargaining unit have input, via their
private vote, as to whether they want to be represented by a
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union; and
WHEREAS, The card-check process can leave workers who were
never asked to sign such card by union organizers without any
input into whether they are to be represented by a union; and
WHEREAS, The card-check process could lead to situations in
which employees are misled by union organizers as to the full
significance of signing such card authorizations, as detailed by
public testimony in February 2007 before the United States House
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions; and
WHEREAS, The secret ballot election process is not biased
against unions, as is evidenced in the NLRB's Annual Report for
Fiscal Year 2007 which stated that, in fiscal year 2007-2008,
1,905 representation elections were held covering 101,551
employee voters, with workers choosing union representation as
their bargaining agents 54.9%; and
WHEREAS, The secret ballot election process is being
administered by the NLRB in a timely, efficient manner, as is
evidenced in the NLRB's Performance and Accountability Report
for Fiscal Year 2008, which states that 95% of initial
representation elections were held within 56 days of filing of a
representation petition; and
WHEREAS, The bills in the 110th Congress enacting the
Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 also proposed creating a
binding arbitration process which could be instituted in as
little as 120 days after commencement of initial contract
negotiations to impose an initial contract upon the parties
involved in collective bargaining; and
WHEREAS, Current Federal law does not require that binding
arbitration be used on unwilling participants, and traditional
national labor policy favors a collective bargaining process
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which does not compel either party to agree to any proposal or
require the making of a concession; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
oppose language in any Federal legislation which creates a card-
check process, because such a process violates workers'
fundamental rights to a secret ballot vote, which protects them
from intimidation and which ensures that all workers have a
chance to give their input; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
maintain the position that, if there are problems with the
fairness of secret ballot elections with respect to isolated
instances of employer intimidation, then Congress should address
that issue alone and do so in a manner that primarily maintains
the secret ballot election process for deciding union
representation in contested situations; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
oppose any Federal legislative language violating an employer's
First Amendment right to express the employer’s view to
employees on the implications of union representation; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
oppose language in any amendment to the National Labor Relations
Act (49 Stat. 449, 29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.), to require binding
arbitration, because such a requirement will seriously alter the
traditionally accepted balance of power in initial contract
negotiations and subject employers to the imposition of contract
provisions by third parties; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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