04/24/2008
The political climate is changing, and the small business-friendly atmosphere that was once prevalent on Capitol Hill is steadily evaporating. The November elections are quickly approaching, and Washington insiders are already predicting that there will be a major shift toward a pro-labor agenda. We have already seen fledgling signs of this with the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in the House of Representatives, the introduction of the Healthy Families Act in the Senate and the calls by some lawmakers to expand the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, these initial and misleadingly named attempts to stifle workers' rights and harm businesses are only the beginning. If Big Labor has its way, the government will dictate how you should run your small business by imposing one-size-fits-all mandates, robbing you of the flexibility and discretion you need to operate most effectively.
Union leaders are mobilizing their members right now. In March, leaders of 56 national labor unions agreed at an AFL-CIO executive council meeting to collect written pledges from 10 percent of the federation's members (about 1 million workers). These pledges would demand an overhaul of U.S. labor law and be presented to the newly elected president and to all members of the House and Senate in January of 2009. Labor will insist on the passage and signing into law of the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill would replace private-ballot elections with an inferior "card-check" system, which allows a union to organize simply if a majority of workers sign a card. For more information on this pledge, visit http://www.pww.org/article/view/12663/.
The small business community cannot idly sit by and let Big Labor indoctrinate the 111th Congress into adopting their anti-business and anti-free enterprise viewpoints. Members of Congress, particularly freshman members, are vulnerable to the tactics typically employed by unions including intimidation and misinformation. In order to counteract big labor's influence, NFIB has joined the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a coalition of workers, employers, associations and organizations who are fighting to protect the right to a federally supervised private ballot. Take a moment to visit the Web site and learn more about the coalition's efforts and how you can get involved.
The bottom line is that Big Labor is wasting no time pushing its anti-small business agenda for the next Congress. The efforts we have witnessed in recent months to pass paid sick-leave mandates, repeal the private ballot and expand the ADA are just the first attempts in a long series of legislative initiatives that the big bosses have up their sleeve. If organized labor is successful, targeted members of Congress susceptible to the political winds will be touting bills that would have a devastating impact on small business, including government run national healthcare, new payroll taxes and the expansion of workers' compensation.
It's time to fight back! NFIB strongly encourages you to visit the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace Web site. Together, we can defeat this radical labor agenda and secure workers' rights. Your small business cannot afford otherwise!
