The Employee Free Choice Act Getting Ready for Vote

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has passed the House and has completed its first round of Senate hearings. This legislation would affect those private sector employers who employ the 92.7% of U.S. workers currently unrepresented by a labor union. This Management Alert provides an update on the status of this legislation and discusses a lesser publicized but perhaps an even more controversial aspect of EFCA—that is, its provision for binding arbitration that will significantly change the collective bargaining process for first contracts.