2009-05-02T10:44:37Z opencongress.org tag:opencongress.org,2007:/bill/comments/55703 2009-05-02T10:44:37Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-05-02:/comment/105220 congresswatcher Fleminigtonteaparty: I hope your statement that no one has a right to a safe environment is opinion and not fact. You ought to do your homework. There are many laws on the books that provide for a safe work environment. But many employers choose to ignore those laws because they know they can get away with it. Your statement, even if opinion, shows your lack of experience and knowledge on this subject. What if your neighbor opens up a garbage dump, pollutes your air and water, and you plea to local authorities for help? If the authorities turn their back on you, your only recourse would be to sell your home, which by then would be worthless. But of course, in your opinion, you do not have the "right" to a safe environment. You'd have to "earn" it! You have the right to determine your destiny! 2009-04-30T13:58:17Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-04-30:/comment/104940 NVGuy36 With the Union voted in for a particular labor group with an employer, the individuals within that group lose their ability to communicate directly with leadership. Everything from that point forward has to be mediated by a Shop Steward. Regardless of what this bill changes or not, Unions mean less voice for the individual employee and a larger base from which to fund said organization. I'm not sure about anyone else here, but I enjoy being able to speak freely to my boss without having my words filtered through someone else. You lose that privilege when a Union takes over. Also, the FLSA in addition to several other Acts/Agencies (OSHA comes to mind) haved addressed many of the issues Unions were created to deal with in the first place. Hence, the validity of the statement "Unions were once beneficial, but their time has now past". 2009-10-25T00:25:31Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-10-25:/comment/150691 DDC Autotech64: "We are dedicated workers and get paid only for the work we perform. We deserve the right to negotiate for fair wages, better benefits, a safe work environment and reasonable job security." "We get paid only for the work we perform." Sounds right to me. Work = pay This sounds like complete BS... "...Launched a major campaign of terror against these employees." Puh-lease. 2009-03-31T06:48:07Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-31:/comment/99871 deborahg6 The Patriot Act argument is really getting old...move on. Almost as bad as the "we inherited this debt" one. You got the President and Congress you've always wanted and what has happened so far in the first few months is staggering beyond compare. 2010-03-23T11:24:54Z tag:opencongress.org,2010-03-23:/comment/190152 applemanmatt This bill will make our country less competitive than ever before, and everyone knows it. The only reason why people support it is because they get elected by the poor people and the unions (who are the people driving this bill). If this bill is signed into law, our country's economy will be destroyed. 2009-04-06T19:31:40Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-04-06:/comment/101140 Anonymous I propose you personally explain that to the thousands of Wal Mart and Home Depot employees who were threathened with termination when they went and asked management for the ballots that would have allowed then a vote. Now those same workers can get a ballot without fear fo termination, and the corporations will be forced to pay a living wage. The shareholders might have to get real jobs, since the earnings won't be as large, but maybe labor won't have to work two jobs to support a small family. 2009-04-02T20:33:08Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-04-02:/comment/100483 heatherrm The ignorance in these responses is amazing. What happened in your past that made you so scared and angry and close minded. I will give you credit for for one thing those that oppose this have an outstanding ability to quote portions of the act in a way that causes fear and doubt. The act is only 7 pages long. Anyone should be able to read that. I have contacted Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition of this and they have all clarified that this DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE SECRET BALLOT! If 30% of the employees profess interest in forming a union they can file a petition to the NLRB requesting a secret ballot. The only thing that has changed about the secret ballot is who requests it. If a simple majority of employees wish to profess interest to the NLRB (50%+1) the employees union would be recognized. I would think you would support this as it would save tax payers dollars and the NLRB's time as the support is already there. 2010-01-03T04:19:51Z tag:opencongress.org,2010-01-03:/comment/180355 stokescritt6557 very well put ! 2010-01-03T04:31:48Z tag:opencongress.org,2010-01-03:/comment/180356 stokescritt6557 if it were not for the unions of this country we would all be working like these other countries around the clock and for nothing ! unions are what made this country what it is and built on the shoulders of the working man and women of this country.the ceo's of this country and the greed of these people have taken away everything that the unions have built ! i do not think that paying a ceo five hundred times the blue collar worker is fare and don't like the way its been shoved down our throats over the years.hell yes i'm angry and have all the right to be and those of you that speak against this bill and its measures are probably the fat cats setting on your nest eggs made by the blood ,sweat, and tears of the working man and women.what a shame that we have stooped to the level we have in this country and have divided ourselves like this or have allowed the big dogs of this country to do this to us ! wake up america and look around and see the forest !God bless America ! 2009-04-25T11:31:08Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-04-25:/comment/104305 NanaG I personally think the time for unions is past. We have enough laws on the books where people are paid fairly. Unions are what has bankrupted the car companies. This will just give them more opportunity to pressure the workers into joining. Takes away their right to privacey in their vote. 2010-01-03T13:14:16Z tag:opencongress.org,2010-01-03:/comment/180408 stokescritt6557 you dont have the foggest idea of what it takes to go out and work for a real living in this world do you ? try fighting the big ceo's of this country and maybe you'd see its not so easy after all.for the man or women in this world that gives their heart and soul to these companies and the blood,sweat and tears that they pour out over their low paying jobs everyday while the fat cat ceo's take their millions and run i pray that someday they will get whats coming to them and the men and women get theirs too.get off your a.. and try working in a true working enviroment ! 2010-01-27T05:21:54Z tag:opencongress.org,2010-01-27:/comment/182568 schnelson You have to read the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the "National Labor Relations Board Guide to the NLRA" to more fully appreciate why the EFCA is important and needed to amend this dated piece of legislation. What surprised me was that only one page was dedicated to specify "unfair labor practices by employer," while "unfair labor practices by labor organization" took almost two and a half pages. Increasing the upper limit of penalties against employers found guilty of violating provisions of the NLRA is necessary to bring balance back to the "price of doing business." I believe many companies violate labor laws because, even if caught and convicted, the fines are low enough that they are willing to take the risk. What strikes me as ironic is that most, if not all, labor unions are subject to both sides of the law because labor unions are both "employers" as well as "labor organizations." 2009-03-16T15:21:13Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-16:/comment/96181 ibdarrel to call this employee free choice act is a gross misnomer. it's more union open field act and puts the choice in the hands of those that apply the most pressure to employees 2009-03-17T11:57:33Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-17:/comment/96431 MichaelBN Unions gave us and helped maintain the American middle class. Union busting has driven unions from places of employment. The gap between the wealthy and everyone else is growing. These are facts. When someone says, "Unions were OK at one time, but they've outlived their usefulness", tell them to wait. When all unions are gone, we'll remember just how useful they were. Finally, nowhere in The Employee Free Choice Act is it dictated that workers may not choose to vote via a secret ballot. Unions drive businesses away? Our wages already "compete" with those of third world nations. We didn't need this bill to inspire the wealthy to move their manufacturing plants to Mexico, China, India, sub Saharan Africa and former Soviet states where people are willing to work for 2 or 3 dollars an hour. Corporations have been doing that for quite a while. I'll never understand the ease with which middle class Americans are encouraged to argue against their own best interests. 2009-03-17T19:43:22Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-17:/comment/96507 waitin4payday MichaelBN wrote: "Finally, nowhere in The Employee Free Choice Act is it dictated that workers may not choose to vote via a secret ballot." Umm...yes it is. Right here... "If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a)." Could you imagine if we elected our country's presidents in this manner? 2009-03-20T16:03:05Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-20:/comment/97255 MichaelBN There’s nothing in that clause that bans the use of a secret ballot. If the employees decide that there should be a secret ballot before bringing the card checks into the place, who’s to stop them? My suspicion is that most of the people who oppose this bill really don’t much care about democracy among employees in the work place. It makes a fine populist sounding argument, though, and, as with all of the Newspeak being done these days by The Corporacracy and its supporters, it’s not surprising that middle class people, what’s left of us, once again working against their own best interest, as mentioned. It must be how The State was able to get Syme so excited about working on that Newspeak dictionary. 2009-04-10T02:58:00Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-04-10:/comment/101931 justanothervoice MichaelBN, I think this is part of the disconnect..A workplace is NOT a democracy. It is a workplace, an organization in most cases created to make a profit. If you were to open a business with say 100 manual laborers, do you allow those employees to set the wages, or the work hours? If all the employee vote to receive the same pay as you, do you allow that? 2009-03-23T20:06:08Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-23:/comment/97849 ramanajan It is not democracy in the workplace to be forced to join a union in order to work somewhere and then have your dues support political activities that you do not agree with. It is not democracy to have another powerful control over your life that, in many cases, is simply another burden on you the worker because the union is not looking out for the very people it professes to protect, but is more interested in self preservation. 2009-03-24T06:09:46Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-24:/comment/97934 justanothervoice While many believe a union protects workers, and in some cases that is true, a union organizaer is paid for each person they sign up. They have the same goal as a used car salesperson and that is make their commission. So there is a choice to be made by workers, a greedy union who only wants your dues, or a greedy corporation whose main goal is profit. For me, I have to go with the one who writes the paychecks. It is interesting to note, an employer may be punished for lying to employees about a union, there is no punishment for union organizers lying or spreading rumors about the corporation. If a group wants to organize, why is a secret ballot a bad thing. Originally, that was done to protect the worker, why the change of heart? Probably because workers want to speak for themselves instead of paying someone every week to speak for all of them. 2009-03-25T20:53:50Z tag:opencongress.org,2009-03-25:/comment/98391 ronbar87 This is not an employee free choice act. It is a way for unions to take total control. It not only is taking away the choice to vote by secrete ballot, but also taking away the right of the people to not be a member if the union is voted in. My state has a right to work law that give us the right to work in a unionized company with out being a member of the union. Personally, I don't think anyone should be forced to be a member of anything they have to pay money to be a part of. And then to have the union tell them how to vote or who to vote for, to spend their due on a candidate that may not be the candidate of my choice. This is supposed to be a free country, forced unionization would take away many freedoms we now have. Supporting certain political candidates can prove to be detrimental to our rights and freedoms. Such as the way the union supported Barack Obama for president, and now everyone is concerned about our rights to own guns.