Common Questions and Answers on Card Check

One of the most critical aspects of the Employee Free Choice Act is card check.  Under current law, an employer can legally recognize a union if a majority of employees demonstrates support, normally through signing authorization cards.  However, the decision to recognize the union or not is entirely dependent on the employer, which often means that the only way a union can legally be recognized is through a National Labor Relations Board election.  

Under the EFCA, if a majority of workers sign cards, the decision on recognizing the union is no longer left to the employer.  With the EFCA, the NLRB reviews the cards and determines if a majority is met.  If it is, workers get their union.

What does an authorization card say? 

Cards contain language stating the employee signing the card is designating a particular union to represent him or her for collective bargaining.  The EFCA directs the NLRB to develop model language for authorization cards.

What if there is a question over the cards? 

Just like under current law, the NLRB can still order an election if there is a genuine concern dealing with authorization cards.

Why is card check more democratic than the current system of elections? 

Majority sign-up guarantees greater employee participation because it involves getting a majority of all employees, not just those who show up for an election.  Card check procedures also help avoid many of the problems seen in normal NLRB elections including one-sided anti-union campaigns, union busting tactics, harassment, intimidation and other undemocratic activity.

Has card check ever been used wide-scale before?

Prior to the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, majority sign-up procedures were widely used by the NLRB.  The election procedures were developed at a time when employer hostility towards employees was less common, with far fewer illegal violations than we see today.  Over the years, union-busting activity has grown substantially to create the broken system we have today.

Today, multiple states utilize card check as an effective way of allowing workers a free choice.  For example, in New York, Governor Pataki (R) signed legislation in 2001 that allows private workers not covered by the NLRB to form unions by card check authorization process.  Many other states, such as California, Illinois and New Mexico, have card check for their public sector workers.