Proponents and Opponents: Where Do They Stand on the Employee Free Choice Act and Neutrality and Card-Check Agreements?

Abstract

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a top priority for Democrats in the current Congress. Passage is also a priority for the union representing the largest number of hotel workers, UNITE HERE. The debate over the bill, including the neutrality and card-check agreement provisions, is polarized between the union and management stakeholders. This qualitative study used grounded theory to explore the degree of polarization between the San Francisco hotel labor-relations stakeholders. The results confirmed expectations that the union representative and other stakeholders have divergent views on key issues, National Labor Relations Act organizing process, the impact of neutrality, and the impact of the EFCA on employees, with the union on one end of the continuum and others at times on the complete opposite end. It also identified employees as being the central theme of the debate. However, regarding the views on the impact of the EFCA on San Francisco labor relations, there was virtual agreement that the impact would be mild. While the labor situation in San Francisco is unique since it represents a city with a high degree of union representation among hotel workers, it is a indicator of how polarized the views are on the EFCA.