Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR51 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R5262 BPG-D
2	2	By: Patrick, Dan S.C.R. No. 51
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4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The Employee Free Choice Act, a legislative priority
7	7	of labor organizations, would bring drastic change to the American
8	8	workplace, distorting the employer-employee relationship in
9	9	fundamental ways; and
10	10	WHEREAS, Currently, most workers join unions through secret
11	11	ballot elections; under the National Labor Relations Act, a union
12	12	seeking to represent employees must show the National Labor
13	13	Relations Board that there is sufficient interest at a workplace,
14	14	typically by collecting employee signatures or signed
15	15	authorization cards from 50 to 75 percent of the workforce; the NLRB
16	16	holds a secret ballot election after a period in which both the
17	17	union and the employer may state their cases; rules forbid
18	18	employers to threaten, intimidate, or make promises to employees to
19	19	encourage votes against the union, although unions do not have
20	20	similar constraints; and
21	21	WHEREAS, The EFCA would force employers to recognize a union
22	22	without an election; the union would merely need to submit
23	23	authorization cards from more than 50 percent of employees to the
24	24	NLRB in order to gain certification; these cards would be signed
25	25	publicly, exposing reluctant workers to pressure tactics and
26	26	harassment from organizers, who are paid to recruit dues-paying
27	27	members, while employers would be prevented from informing workers
28	28	of negative aspects of unionization; and
29	29	WHEREAS, Moreover, the EFCA would have a profound negative
30	30	impact on the bargaining process; under the act, if a company and a
31	31	newly certified union failed to reach agreement on an initial
32	32	contract after 90 days, they would have only an additional 30 days
33	33	to reach an agreement with the assistance of the Federal Mediation
34	34	and Conciliation Service; after 120 days of unsuccessful
35	35	negotiation, the issue would be submitted to binding arbitration
36	36	and a government arbitrator would write a contract effective for
37	37	the next two years; and
38	38	WHEREAS, The arbitrator would have little experience with the
39	39	company or knowledge of its business practices, yet would dictate
40	40	all wages and working conditions; neither the company nor its
41	41	employees would be able to appeal the ruling of an arbitrator, who
42	42	would not be held accountable for mistakes; an ill-advised ruling
43	43	could compromise a company's financial health, possibly sending it
44	44	into bankruptcy, or deprive workers of a wage increase they might
45	45	have gained through collective bargaining; binding arbitration
46	46	decisions can also take an inordinate amount of time, and
47	47	uncertainty over future business costs would likely cause a company
48	48	to reduce investment until the contract is handed down;
49	49	furthermore, the bureaucratic approach of binding arbitration
50	50	stifles firms with innovative business models; and
51	51	WHEREAS, The Employee Free Choice Act is surely a misnomer;
52	52	arguably the most far-reaching change in labor law in 70 years, it
53	53	strips employees of their privacy and their rights, exposing them
54	54	to intimidation and constraining their ability to bargain with
55	55	their employers; at the same time, it would have dire economic
56	56	consequences, resulting in slower growth and fewer jobs; now,
57	57	therefore, be it
58	58	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
59	59	hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
60	60	oppose any efforts to adopt the Employee Free Choice Act or any
61	61	similar legislation; and, be it further
62	62	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
63	63	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
64	64	the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
65	65	senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
66	66	Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
67	67	resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
68	68	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.