Labor, business gird for card-check fight

Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress introduced union-friendly card-check bills in early March, setting off a war of words that is likely to continue during the months ahead.

The “Employee Free Choice Act” would enable easier union growth, providers and other critics claim. Workers could forego secret elections to form a union chapter by simply collecting signed cards from more than 50% of a given workforce.

“This legislation is wrong on policy, wrong on principle, and presents a clear and present danger to every working American who wants to exercise free choice in joining a union,” stated Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association. The National Center for Assisted Living and the Assisted Living Federation of America also were among the groups objecting to the bills.