Well I heard some people talking just the other day…

I’ve been listening to a lot of talk radio recently, mainly because my taste in music got stuck in the 70’s (the Eagles are my favorite band!) and I can’t take much of what’s on typical music radio these days.  Lots of coverage regarding the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, universal health care, and general doom and gloom about the economy.  One item that’s certainly been on many employers’ radar relates to union organization and the general fear that many employers have about EFCA

As we’ve reported before, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), also known as the Union Relief Act of 2009, is a proposed federal employment law that seeks to amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by making changes to the current process for employees to elect labor union representation and to the process associated with negotiating an initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between an employer and a newly certified union representing its employees. EFCA also seeks to add significant penalties for certain practices that violate the NLRA.

I heard one talk show host say that all the fuss about EFCA’s potential to remove workers’ rights to a federally supervised private ballot election (which is important because it would require workers to sign cards in front of organizers and colleagues, potentially subjecting them to harassment or intimidation) was really a red herring – taking the focus off the real issue about which employers should be concerned: the potential that the bill will require mandatory government arbitration in the event that unions stonewall contract negotiations.

Whatever the case, my fellow L&E attorney, Michael P. Maslanka had a great, and common sense, blog article that I wanted to point employers to.

He writes about the famous and true-story union organization movie “Norma Rae,” which provides some great common sense gems for employers:

• People organize unions because of the small things.
• People want to feel that what they do matters.
• Companies need to know who the informal leaders in the organization are and realize that they can be the company’s best advocate or worst enemy.

His post is a reminder…Don’t just pay lip service to the goings on in your organization – keep your finger on the pulse by actually being aware and involved.  Sometimes you have to take a step back to really see what’s right in front of you.  As the Eagles sang in one of my favorite songs (Already Gone): “Just remember this…when you look up in the sky, you can see the stars and still not see the light (that’s right).”  That can serve us well in business – and in life.