Implications Of Potential EFCA Or PRO Act-Type Legislation For U.S. Employers

In 2008, the then elected Democratic President, Barack Obama, put forward a dramatic amendment to the Wagner model of labor relations in the United States titled the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA or the Act). Comment or editorial opinion regarding the title of the Act aside, the proposed legislation was not passed due in large part to the Republicans in the Senate blocking its passage.

Despite the numerous fears and concerns expressed by employers in the U.S. at that time, two major changes proposed in the draft Act caused the most controversy and debate. The first major issue related to the replacement of the vote to determine majority status for union certification by a "card check system". In this system, where a trade union files an application for certification (or petition) with a sufficient number (normally a simple majority) of union cards signed by those employees contained in the proposed and accepted bargaining unit, the trade union will be certified