Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
News Briefs
IFA Declares Union Check-Off to Be Primary Legislative Concern
The International Franchise Association (“IFA”) has declared defeating the Employee Free Choice Act to be a “top priority” for 2009. The Act, commonly known as “Card Check,” would ease union organizing, bring mandatory arbitration quickly into play in labor negotiations, and raise penalties on businesses for violating labor laws.
Defeating the bill will be a major challenge for IFA and the dozens of business groups that have lined up to oppose the legislation. Not only have Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said that they will pass the bill, but President-Elect Barack Obama co-sponsored Card Check legislation when he was in the Senate. Obama said during the presidential campaign that he would sign a Card Check bill, and his position has not changed in the last few weeks, even as business groups have said that Card Check would raise their costs during a recession. For example, Obama told the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 9: “When it comes to unions, I have consistently said that I want to strengthen the union movement in this country and put an end to the kinds of barriers and roadblocks that are in the way of workers legitimately coming together in order to form a union and bargain collectively.”
Card Check would represent significant changes in labor law. Currently, when a majority of workers in a bargaining unit sign cards indicating that they want to form a union, their employer can either recognize the union or demand a secret ballot; if more than half the affected workers vote for the union, then it is recognized. In practice, employers always demand a secret ballot, and many union-organizing efforts fail at this stage.
The Card Check law would require that employers recognize unions when a majority of workers in a prospective bargaining unit sign union cards.
“This legislation is not labor reform. The legislation is an assault on the rights of employees and employers,” the IFA stated in letters that it sent in early December to every member of the House and Senate. “Members of Congress recognize that a secret ballot is a superior method of validating the views of the majority since all congressional leadership elections on both sides of the political aisle are conducted with a secret ballot. Why should employees be exposed to a grossly inferior standard of protection in the workplace?”
IFA believes that the law would intimidate workers into joining a union because they could not register their preferences in a secret ballot. Union advocates say that that the Card Check system would counterbalance intimidation of workers by management.
The proposed legislation also provides for a binding arbitration process if a first contract is not agreed to within 120 days of union recognition. But IFA's letter noted that having the fallback of binding arbitration would be likely to reduce parties' incentives to bargain in good faith.
IFA Declares Union Check-Off to Be Primary Legislative Concern
The International Franchise Association (“IFA”) has declared defeating the Employee Free Choice Act to be a “top priority” for 2009. The Act, commonly known as “Card Check,” would ease union organizing, bring mandatory arbitration quickly into play in labor negotiations, and raise penalties on businesses for violating labor laws.
Defeating the bill will be a major challenge for IFA and the dozens of business groups that have lined up to oppose the legislation. Not only have Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said that they will pass the bill, but President-Elect Barack Obama co-sponsored Card Check legislation when he was in the Senate. Obama said during the presidential campaign that he would sign a Card Check bill, and his position has not changed in the last few weeks, even as business groups have said that Card Check would raise their costs during a recession. For example, Obama told the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 9: “When it comes to unions, I have consistently said that I want to strengthen the union movement in this country and put an end to the kinds of barriers and roadblocks that are in the way of workers legitimately coming together in order to form a union and bargain collectively.”
Card Check would represent significant changes in labor law. Currently, when a majority of workers in a bargaining unit sign cards indicating that they want to form a union, their employer can either recognize the union or demand a secret ballot; if more than half the affected workers vote for the union, then it is recognized. In practice, employers always demand a secret ballot, and many union-organizing efforts fail at this stage.
The Card Check law would require that employers recognize unions when a majority of workers in a prospective bargaining unit sign union cards.
“This legislation is not labor reform. The legislation is an assault on the rights of employees and employers,” the IFA stated in letters that it sent in early December to every member of the House and Senate. “Members of Congress recognize that a secret ballot is a superior method of validating the views of the majority since all congressional leadership elections on both sides of the political aisle are conducted with a secret ballot. Why should employees be exposed to a grossly inferior standard of protection in the workplace?”
IFA believes that the law would intimidate workers into joining a union because they could not register their preferences in a secret ballot. Union advocates say that that the Card Check system would counterbalance intimidation of workers by management.
The proposed legislation also provides for a binding arbitration process if a first contract is not agreed to within 120 days of union recognition. But IFA's letter noted that having the fallback of binding arbitration would be likely to reduce parties' incentives to bargain in good faith.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?