The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 800. the so called “Employee Free Choice Act. The Maryland Chamber opposed this legislation, which strips away employees’ freedom to choose whether or not union representation is right for themselves and their families.

Currently, the most common method for determining whether or not employees want a union to represent them is a secret ballot election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB provides detailed procedures that ensure a fair election, free of fraud, where employees may cast their vote confidentially without peer pressure or coercion from unions or employers.

H.R. 800, the “Employee Free Choice Act,” would replace this process with a process called “card check,” where a union is recognized in a workplace if a majority of workers sign a card in the presence of union organizers and fellow employees who support unionization.

Congressmen Elijah Cummings, Chris Van Hollen, Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and Al Wynn all voted for the bill. Thank you to Roscoe Bartlett and Wayne Gilchrest for voting against the legislation.

Hopefully the U.S. Senate will protect workers’ rights to secret ballot union organizing elections. We’ll let you know when the Senate takes up the issue.