If you follow labor issues at all -- and since you're reading this blog, that's probably a safe bet -- you've probably been hearing a lot of buzz lately about the Employee Free Choice Act, or "EFCA" for short. We're certainly going to be talking about it here. So I figured a good way to start would be with a brief overview of what EFCA is, why it's important, and what you can do to help.

WHAT EFCA IS

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a bill currently before Congress that would strengthen the right of workers to freely choose to have a union, and would provide for a simple and fair process known as "majority sign-up". In majority sign-up, each worker has the opportunity to sign a card indicating that they want the union; if a majority sign the cards, the workers have their union.

WHY EFCA IS IMPORTANT

Currently, to join with your co-workers to have a union at work, you have to go through a long and complicated administrative process, and be subject to a management campaign against the union and workers who support the union. The process eventually leads to a "representation election", where, after the management campaign that usually involves threats, coercion, intimidation and even illegal firings, workers vote on whether or not they want the union.

An election. Voting. That sounds nice and democratic, right? Unfortunately, as the old song puts it, "it ain't necessarily so".

The current process is seriously broken. It gives employers dramatic advantages that are not available to the workers who are trying to join together. In 2005, for example, more than 31,000 workers were unfairly terminated by their employers just for trying to organize unions in their workplace. The employers get away with this because, frankly, there is no penalty; if the government finds they punished someone unfairly, all they have to do is rehire the worker and give her the back pay she would have earned during the period she was out of work. For many employers, that's a small price to pay to send the leaders of the union drive home -- and to send a message to every other worker in the company.

Additionally, the system gives employers a range of unfair advantages in the campaign process. They can require workers to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their supervisors; they can threaten to close the plant if the workers win the election (even though only 2% of plants that go union end up closing); and if the workers win the vote, they can drag out the actual formation of the union for years and years with endless appeals.

60% of American workers tell pollsters that they would like to join a union, but only 12% have. These unfair roadblocks are a big part of the reason why.

HOW EFCA WOULD HELP

The Employee Free Choice Act would fix this sorry situation by reforming the union election process. Instead of having an "election day" following weeks, and even months, of a company campaign designed to stop workers from exercising their right to have a union, where workers have to cast their vote on company property, under the eyes of management -- EFCA would implement a simpler, fairer process called "majority sign-up".

Under majority sign-up, workers who want to organize a union would distribute cards to their co-workers asking them if they support the union. If a majority of workers sign the cards, the organizers can file a petition (along with the signed cards) to the government, asking that their union be recognized. If the government finds no problems with the cards, the petition is approved.

This is a much more democratic approach than the current, broken system. It lets workers make the choice, rather than giving their employers a veto. It removes many of the opportunities that employers have to pressure workers. And if previous experiences with majority sign-up are indicative, it will mean less strife between labor and management; workers who have experienced a majority sign-up election were nearly twice as likely as workers who hadn't to report that management did not pressure them.

In short, it makes union elections democratic again. And that's a Good Thing any way you slice it.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

There's a lot I could say on this, and this post is already getting pretty herniated, so I will save this for the next exciting installment. Stay tuned...