Manufacturers Come to Washington to Oppose Employee Free Choice Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.–A delegation of approximately 50 corporate chief executive officers and senior corporate staff, all members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), urged senators and members of Congress to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, generally known as “card check.”

“This is the most unifying issue for business right now,” said NAM President and CEO John Engler. “These business leaders have come to Washington to make it clear they oppose proposals that will further hinder manufacturers’ economic competitiveness and our ability to create jobs.”

Engler said the centerpiece of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is its provision for fair exchange of information among labor unions, employees and employers free of coercion or other tactics that might taint votes.

“By eliminating secret ballot voting and changing the role of government arbitrators from interpreting contracts to actually writing the terms and conditions of contracts, the Employee Free Choice Act undermines the fundamental tenets from which this law was developed,” he said.

“This is not just a matter of business opposition,” Engler said. “A poll by McLaughlin & Associates showed that 74 percent of voters oppose EFCA, and that even a majority of union households oppose it. A recent poll by The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) shows that 73 percent of Obama voters oppose EFCA, and that more than 80 percent of Obama voters believe secret ballot elections are the best way to protect the individual rights of workers.”

The business leaders spread out over Capitol Hill calling on senators and congressmen to express their opposition to EFCA.