Frequently Asked Questions about Employee Free Choice

What Does the Employee Free Choice Act Do?

The Employee Free Choice Act will make it easier for people to achieve the American Dream by ensuring workers can unite on the job for wages and benefits that support a family. We have serious problems in our country right now and we need real solutions to create an economy that works for everyone. This bill will make it easier for workers to unite on the job, imposing stiff penalties for corporations who fire or intimidate workers who try to form unions and giving workers a seat at the table so they can negotiate their contracts just like CEOs do.

What's Wrong With Our Current Laws?

Our current laws are outdated and protect the status quo economy because they are stacked toward large corporations over workers. Tens of thousands of workers in America are fired every year for trying to form a union. Even more face illegal intimidation and coercion from employers that goes unpunished.

Even when a majority of employees in a workplace sign cards saying they want to form a union and have them certified, the company can overturn that and decide that workers have to do it all again months later. Many companies use this time to launch anti-union campaigns, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on efforts designed to confuse and intimidate workers to keep them from voting for a union. Workers should be able to make their own decisions about how to form a union--not corporations.

I Already Have a Union. Why Should I Support the Employee Free Choice Act?

When some workers are denied a voice on the job, it hurts all workers because it brings down standards in the community. We see it as we pass up higher wages to keep our healthcare. We see it when good jobs leave our communities and are replaced by low-paying jobs that can't support a family. With more workers uniting for a voice on the job, we can build our strength to win higher wages for all workers, access to affordable healthcare, protect our retirement, and create a better future for our kids.

I've Heard That the Employee Free Choice Act Will Take Away "Secret Ballot" Elections. Is That True?

No. The Employee Free Choice Act preserves "secret ballot" elections, but also ensures that workers, not CEOs, decide whether to form a union at work through "majority sign-up." Right now, even when a majority of employees in a workplace sign cards saying they want to form a union and have them certified by the federal agency that oversees labor law, the company can decide that workers have to do it all again months later by forcing them to hold an election.

This legislation ensures that workers decide for themselves--not corporations--about forming a union. Some big corporations are scrambling to defend the status quo by spreading misinformation about the legislation. Instead, they should join with us to find real solutions to create an economy that works for everyone.

Will the Employee Free Choice Act Pass?

The Employee Free Choice Act already has bipartisan support but President Bush and anti-working family senators are blocking it from passing. That's why we need to elect a new president and Congress that will enact this legislation so all workers have the chance to unite for a voice on the job and achieve the American Dream.