Agriculture Coalition Calls on Congress to Kill Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)

/PRNewswire/ -- The newly minted Agriculture for a Democratic Workplace (ADW) is calling on Congress to join the more than 40-member agricultural coalition in opposing the Employee Free Choice Act.

We are opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act because it would strip American workers, including most workers in the agricultural industry, of the right to participate in federally supervised private ballot elections and replace it with a system where their choice of whether or not to join a union is no longer private, the coalition said in an open letter to Congress last week.

"This bill is bad policy. It is bad for employers and employees," said Western Growers President and CEO and ADW Co-Chair Tom Nassif. "It would have the opposite effect of economic stimulus. Card check is a job killer at a time when American businesses are struggling to keep their doors open and avoid further reductions of the workforce."

President Barack Obama has publicly supported the EFCA, but the ADW is hopeful Mr. Obama will recognize that this legislation would hurt the development of job growth in the U.S.

Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League and co-chair of the ADW, added, "With the binding arbitration tenant of the EFCA and the new costs that could be levied on employers, no wonder millions of employers and workers are rallying to fight it. This bill provides no means to stimulate our economy, hinders U.S. efforts to grow business, and will undoubtedly usher in more job losses."

American agriculture stands united in opposition to the EFCA and hopes the country's elected officials will stand with them.

"Congress should oppose legislation that takes rights away from American workers -- such as the right to cast a private vote on whether to certify a union or the right to vote on a union contract at all," said California Farm Bureau Federation President and ADW Co-Chair Doug Mosebar. "If our senators and members of Congress truly want to support America's work force, they will stand with farmers and agricultural business people and oppose the EFCA."

Last month, ADW, this new coalition of national, regional and local agricultural associations covering virtually every sector of the industry launched a campaign to oppose the EFCA. ADW unveiled its Web site (www.coalitionforagriculture.org) with information and tools for coalition members to fight the battle against the introduction and passage of the EFCA.