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Labor Relations Institute, the nation’s leading positive employee relations consultants, today issued this warning to American businesses: Prepare now for the dramatic power shift in favor of unions that is coming in 2009.
"This fatally flawed legislation we call The Two-Headed Monster will pass in some form in 2009," said Phillip B. Wilson, president and general counsel for LRI. "The Big Three Bailout fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg ...they need to hold Gettlefinger and the U.A.W. responsible as well. When EFCA passes, there will be a feeding frenzy on small and medium sized businesses who will become prime targets for union bosses."
Oklahoma City, OK (PRWEB) December 22, 2008 -- Labeled a "union buster" by organized labor, Labor Relations Institute, the nation’s leading positive employee relations consultants, today issued this warning to American businesses: Prepare now for the dramatic power shift in favor of unions that is coming in 2009, citing the appointment of Rep. Solis as U.S. Labor Secretary the latest example of the Obama Administration’s commitment to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
"This fatally flawed legislation we call The Two-Headed Monster will pass in some form in 2009," said Phillip B. Wilson, president and general counsel for LRI. "The Big Three Bailout fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential harm resurgent unions could have on U.S. businesses, and when they consider removing those CEOs, they need to hold Gettlefinger and the U.A.W. responsible as well. When EFCA passes, there will be a feeding frenzy on small and medium sized businesses who will become prime targets for union bosses."
LRI refers to the Employee Free Choice Act as "The Two-Headed Monster" because they believe too much emphasis has been placed upon the card check portion of the legislation.
"Card check has received the lion’s share of the public debate thus far because people understand it and it is emotionally charged," Wilson said.
"Card check is a fatal flaw in the legislation, but the real monster is the binding arbitration. We call it The Two-Headed Monster because the new card check system will force companies into a horribly structured arbitration system, where unions and companies are removed from the negotiation process and long-term decisions are made by outsiders with no stake in the company’s future. One leads to the other; they are joined at the hip."
The Post-EFCA World:
A stealth card signing campaign is very likely to succeed once the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law. Unions will run billboard ads in local industrial parks or ads in newspapers, asking workers who don’t like their job to call or visit a Web site. Those who call will be sent authorization cards and asked to get co-workers to sign. In a small company, a small handful of workers could bring in a union and most employees will have no idea what they are getting into. Thousands of companies will be organized like this with almost no investment on the part of unions.
Under EFCA, companies will have only 120 days to reach a labor agreement -- today these negotiations often take a year or more to resolve. If no agreement is reached (and unions will have very little incentive to cooperate) federal arbitrators are called in to settle the contract. The contract imposed -- regardless of the burden it places on the company -- becomes the bargaining agreement for two years, with no option of appeal.
"Federal arbitrators with very little, if any, industry-specific experience and no time to become educated on the nuances of an industry will decide the future of a company," Wilson said. "It will be like asking Joe the Plumber to do your heart surgery. It makes absolutely no sense, provides completely unrealistic timelines and will make it impossible for businesses to compete in what are already very tough economic times. It’s a recipe for disaster."
About Labor Relations Institute:
Labor Relations Institute, Inc. is dedicated to protecting the direct relationship between employees and their employers. LRI provides the widest possible range of consulting, employee communications products, sophisticated databases and deep intelligence services. LRI’s products and services have been used in more than 10,000 union elections. For more information, please visit www.lrionline.com.
### Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1784884.htm
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