PIA Issues Statement on the Employee Free Choice Act

Washington, D.C.—The following is a statement from Printing Industries of America in response to the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would effectively strip workers’ rights to a federally-overseen, secret ballot election to determine union representation and also allows private contract terms to be set by government arbitrators.“The inaptly named Employee Free Choice Act introduced today [March 10, 2009] effectively restricts workers’ rights to a secret ballot election option regarding union organization by replacing it with a “card check” system in which a worker’s position on unionization would be made public to management, union officials and co-workers. Replacing the secret ballot option with a “card check” system leaves workers vulnerable to coercion and intimidation during union organizing drives.