March 10, 2009

TO:         All Members of the Georgia Congressional Delegation

We understand the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) could be introduced into Congress in the very near future.  On behalf of the fresh produce growers in Georgia and the southeast, our association, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association strongly urges you to oppose this so-called ‘Employee Free Choice Act’ (EFCA).

This legislation would strip hard-working Americans of the opportunity to keep private their decision whether or not to be represented by a union. It would effectively replace private ballots in union elections with the very public “card check” recognition process, where workers are forced to express their views about the union in front of union organizers, by signing or not signing an authorization card. The card check process subjects employees to increased risk of exposure to intimidation, coercion, and peer pressure, all in an effort to obtain signatures on a majority of cards.

Intimidation and coercion can be leveled by both the employer and the union. A secret ballot process protects employees from abuse by either side. No matter what happens prior to the election, once an individual steps into a private voting booth the decision is theirs alone to make. Even if there is no overt coercion, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals observed, “workers sometimes sign authorization cards not because they intend to vote for the union in the election, but to avoid offending the person who asks them to sign, often a fellow worker, or simply to get the person off their back.”

EFCA also contains a provision that mandates compulsory, binding arbitration on the employer and the employees as part the collective bargaining process if an agreement cannot be reached within the first 120 days of negotiations. This misguided language would have a third party, government official impose the terms of a labor contract that are binding upon both parties, even if one or both parties find those terms unacceptable.

GFVGA urges you to oppose this legislation.  We need to make small businesses, including our Georgia  family farms, more competitive, incentivize the growth of new business, and encourage job creation—passage of the EFCA will result in the opposite.

Sincerely,

Charles T. Hall, Jr., Executive Director

Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association