The Employee Free Choice Act Plus the UAW Equals Danger to American Jobs

In the coming months, you are going to become very familiar with the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The EFCA removes the right of employees to privately vote for or against a union. The open ballot initiative will assure that small businesses (stop thinking mom and pop joints) and nonunion companies like Walmart will fall to mob-like union tactics forcing them to unionize. This is just the start.

The UAW has a few fish to fry. While Detroit has suffered from the greed of the UAW for years, the south has flourished with new car manufacturing from Honda, Toyota, and Subaru. States like Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and others have benefited from the manufacturing jobs provided by Japanese auto makers. These manufacturers have been so successful in the US they are now exporting American made cars. The open ballot threatens the productivity of these plants.

Most of the manufacturers have managed to keep the UAW from unionizing their plants. The exception is Mitsubishi’s Normal, IL plant. Their plant is unionized. Coincidentally, Mitsubishi’s profits are down. The plant has an agreement with the union to stay open for at least 2012. After that, it may find locks on the door. The rest of the Japanese companies continue to provide solid employment for the residents of the rural areas they have set up in, all without the UAW presence.

These plants have modernized these rural areas creating stronger economies and bringing in retailers, restaurants, and services that would not have survived prior. The open ballot threatens these now thriving communities.

The average American car has $1200 hidden in the price to cover the costs of the UAW to the manufacturers. The average UAW member earns $20 more an hour to perform a similar job to those working in the Honda, Toyota, and Subaru plants. If the UAW successfully spreads into these plants, it will assure these plants are on the same road as their American cousins, who now beg for bailout money to pay for the added costs of the UAW.

In recent years, the Big Three have tried to cut costs by closing down American plants and moving them to Mexico. Chrysler’s PT Cruiser and Hemi engine plant is located in Mexico. Many Michigan towns, like Flint, have become ghost towns because of this. The other companies that provided retail and services to these plants and towns, have closed as well. It’s the domino theory. It could happen in the south.

What incentive does Honda, Toyota, or Subaru have to stay in the United States if they are forced by unions to increase wages, benefits, and other union fees? Looking at the Big Three as an example, I would guess they would be forced to consider possibly closing these plants. After all, the bailout for the U.S. Automakers is mainly to cover the costs of UAW benefits. I doubt our government would have as much interest in bailing out Honda or Toyota. I don’t’ think the Japanese government would be interested in paying out to cover UAW benefits to help Honda or Toyota out either.

The open ballot doesn’t just threaten the south’s new manufacturing base. It threatens every business that’s opened thanks to these plants. Not only do they face the possibility of closing, they also face the possibility of an open vote by their own employees. Even fast-food places would face the possibility of unionization. It shouldn’t be too hard to understand what that would do to prices and our economy. The open ballot is a threat to prosperity in America.
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