Karen Ackerman, political director of the AFL-CIO, recently announced the organization's willingness to accept changes to the Employee Free Choice Act, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We certainly understand that it would be unusual if a bill was passed as it was introduced word for word," she said. "There's a lot of discussion yet to take place. We'll see what happens over the next few months."
The issue at the heart of the EFCA is the elimination of the secret ballot system; currently, employees vote on whether or not to form a union by casting a secret ballot. The Act would replace the current system by having employees sign cards to show their support, making it easier to organize, but possibly exposing employees to pressure or intimidation. The Act also requires mandatory arbitration for first-time contracts if both parties can't agree within 120 days.
An alternative legislation proposed by Costco, Whole Foods and Starbucks earlier this month was opposed by the AFL-CIO, the Journal writes; at that time, the organization said it would only support the legislation as it was written. The alternative proposal kept the secret ballot, and eliminated mandatory arbitration, but allowed faster elections and gave unions more access to workers.
