Big Business Likes Arbitration--If It Can Control the Process

from OurFuture.org:



Big Business Likes Arbitration--If It Can Control the Process
By Tula Connell

May 15th, 2009 - 12:06pm ET


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Opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act, desperate in their efforts to kill the proposed legislation that would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions, have come up with another line of attack. They are making a lot of noise over the bill's arbitration provision. The argument is just another straw-man attempt at gutting legislation that would enable more workers to have a voice on the job. (And one more sign of desperation—to wit, the trotting out of widely loathed figures like Dick Cheney and Karl Rove to attack the Employee Free Choice Act.

Here's the deal. Even after employees select a union to represent them, they need to bargain a first contract. But there's no incentive for management to bargain in good faith. The longer contract negotiations are dragged out, the less likely one will ever be settled. In fact, nearly half of workers are denied a first contract, even when they've won their union.

So, the Employee Free Choice Act provides that when an employer and newly formed union are unable to bargain a first contract within 90 days, either party can request mediation by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). If no agreement has been reached after 30 days of mediation, the dispute is referred to binding arbitration. All time limits can be extended by mutual agreement. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009052015/big-business-likes-arbitration-if-it-can-control-process

As long and business can use non-local labor to produce goods for local consumption, you wind up with a global race-to-the-bottom in labor costs. One approach is global labor standards. Another is to reverse globalization. Reversing globalization also has the advantage of reducing carbon emissions and energy costs, but you might not have so much in the way of cheap plastic stuff and cheap electronic toys. (I know, I know, I say that like it would be a bad thing ...)