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Workers are legally represented by unions in workplace negotiations. In theory, this legal representation is legitimized through a democratic process in which workers vote in favor of union representation. In practice, only 6 percent of those covered by unions under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) have ever voted for union representation. In some cases, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules allow unions to organize workplaces without majority support or even an election.

Revised and updated March 6, 2009

EFCA gives control of the workplace to government bureaucrats.

Democratic elections are a fundamental right in America. Private ballots, such as those cast in the privacy of the voting booth, ensure that voters can express their wishes without pressure or fear of reprisal. American workers should have this right, too, when they vote on whether to join a union.

The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA, H.R. 800) is organized labor's top legislative priority. The portion of the bill that ends union organizing elections has received the most attention and criticism. No less dangerous, however, is a binding arbitration provision that would empower government officials to set workers' wages and working conditions. Binding arbitration could also force workers into multiemployer union pension plans, many of which are severely underfunded and cannot pay promised benefits.