Chemical Groups Oppose Union Bill

Chemical industry trade associations are joining broad-based business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers in opposing the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize. The legislation (H.R. 1409 and S. 560) would allow workers to form a union by collecting signatures from more than half the employees at a business. Workers now vote in secret in a federally supervised election to determine whether they want to unionize. Organized labor claims that expanded union membership would boost wages and benefits. But business groups view the measure as a job killer that would leave workers open to union intimidation. "Every American worker deserves the right to cast their ballot in private," says Joe Acker, president of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association.