The Associated Press reports that dozens of union protesters showed up in Portland, Maine yesterday to protest the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's bus tour underway to bring attention to the Employee Free Choice Act.  Based on press accounts of the event, it may be clear now why EFCA proponents oppose free speech on the issue of unionization.  This WGME news report reveals three arguments in furtherance of the EFCA supporters' position:

1. The ubiquitous "Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! [insert here] has got to go" chant.


2. A postal worker who explains that he has a union and his job still stinks.


3. A mute, grinning doofus who proceeded to topple over the tables the Chamber set up to distribute literature.

Not a terribly impressive policy argument in favor of EFCA.

Frankly, Tom Allen, Democratic candidate for Senate did not fare much better in his attempt to justify his support of the bill.  Unfortunately, the Associated Press re-printed his party-line comments whole, without challenging him on the facts.  Mr. Allen's basic reiteration of the AFL-CIO talking points reveal the uphill battle faced by those interested in a serious policy discussion on labor law reform, divorced from the influence of overbearing special interests:

Allen said the bill "does not eliminate a secret ballot but simply creates an
alternative procedure for working people to organize for better benefits and
pay.

This is a canard being peddled right now by EFCA supporters that is recognized as nonsense by anyone who has had any passing experience with a labor organizing effort in the United States.  No, the EFCA does not require the striking of the secret ballot procedure language from the NLRA.  It only totally eliminates the secret ballot for all workers when a union is able to collect cards from at least 50 percent of a workforce.  Ostensibly a union or group of employees could still file for an election when they've collected cards from 30 to 49 percent of the workforce -- but they won't.  It will never actually happen -- in part, because the union will control the cards, not the employees.  Moreover, right now, they only need cards from 30 percent to get an election scheduled, and organizers still rarely file with cards from fewer than 65-75 percent of the proposed unit.  Some may reasonably find UnionFacts.org political in its own right, but Justin Wilson's blog post "The 30-50 Myth" does a fantastic job of documenting the numerous labor unions who have admitted the foregoing as a matter of internal policy. 

Moreover, while EFCA supporters are quick to cry "liar" when an EFCA opponent claims the law would "eliminate the secret ballot," in Minnesota this week, an administrative law judge threw out a complaint against the EFAC ads running in the state.  The ALJ found that the ad's claims that Al Franken sought to "elminate the secret ballot" are not false.  The decision is available after a press release at the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace website, here.

Under the current laws, the employers decide when and if an election can be
held.

That claim should make one wonder if Mr. Allen has ever actually read the National Labor Relations Act, or observed the processing of a National Labor Relations Board representation petition.  Any employer who has ever received a Decision and Direction of Election from a Board Regional Director, setting the time, date and location for an election, would be surprised to learn that he did not have to abide by it, but instead could decide for himself when an election would be held.

They often delay those elections for years and in many cases the election
is never held at all."

According to the Board General Counsel's Summary of Operations for Fiscal Year 2006, the typical organizing election
took place 39 days after union organizers filed the election petition. Over 94
percent of organizing elections took place within eight weeks after organizers filed the a petition.  Once again, facts get in the way of a good argument.

Which begs the question:  When will we actually hear a good argument on behalf of this legislation as currently written?

Hat tip: NAM's Shopfloor.org