Casey backs bill making it easier for employees to form unions
The U. S. Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that supporters say would make it easier for employees to form unions and detractors say is undemocratic. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is all for it.Casey, who spoke passionately about the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday, believes adopting it will eventually help compensate workers whose productivity has been rising for years without a corresponding hike in their wages.“Unions are a cure for rising inequality because they raise wages for more low-and-middle income wage earners, more so than for higher wage workers,” the Democrat said during his floor speech, according to a transcript.U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter remains uncommitted on how he’ll vote on the bill, but the Republican plans to explain his position Monday evening on the Senate floor, a spokeswoman said. The Senate will take up a House bill passed March 1. U.S. Reps. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, and Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, voted for it. … … Under the bill, workers could simply sign a card designating a union to negotiate a contract on their behalf. If a majority of employees in a workplace sign, the union would instantly be formed. If an employer and union can’t reach an accord on a contract within 90 days, either may request a federal mediator. If, after 30 days, mediation doesn’t work, an arbitrator would settle disputes.Workers can sign such authorizations now, but a formal, secret election, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, is required and a majority of employees must vote to form a union before it is recognized as their contract bargaining representative. During the election process, unions and employers can lobby workers on their positions. … … Critics, including many Republican congressmen, say the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 would eliminate elections, allow union leaders to intimidate workers into joining unions, and force small businesses to accept contracts they can’t afford. … … In an interview Friday, Casey said it’s employers who have been guilty of intimidating workers from joining unions.“If anything this is an attempt to level the playing field,” he said.