12/08/2005
CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, (202) 554-9000
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court adopted arguments made by the National Federation of Independent Business’ Legal Foundation and struck down a Milwaukee County ordinance that requires contractors to sign labor-peace agreements with unions in order to bid on projects that provide county-funded services to the elderly or disabled.
NFIB’s Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case, challenging the ordinance, arguing that the agreements often slam the door in the face of small businesses.
“In order to compete for a job covered by a labor-peace agreement, a contractor must agree to provide the union with employees' names, addresses, and telephone numbers and to give the union reasonable access to the workplace for the purpose of providing union information and disputes arising under the agreement must be arbitrated,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Legal Foundation. “The time and costs spent to comply with the agreements can cripple small businesses, and therefore most small firms never bid on jobs governed by labor-peace agreements.”
The court ruling reverses the district court’s February decision that upheld the ordinance. In ruling against the ordinance, the Appeals court said there is no evidence that labor-peace agreements are successful in preventing service disruptions and may even increase, not decrease, the likelihood of these interruptions.
“The bottom line to NFIB members is that labor-peace agreements squeeze out small businesses. NFIB’s Legal Foundation entered this case to help ensure that Main Street businesses have the opportunity to compete fairly for local government contracts. We are very pleased that the Seventh Circuit sided in favor of small business and overturned the ordinance,” Harned said.
The case is Milwaukee Ass'n of Commerce v. Milwaukee County, 7th Cir., No. 05-1531.
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The NFIB Legal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America's small-business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation's courts. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
