Legislature passes, sends 'Card Check' bill to Governor

On March 25, the Senate approved HB 2974, a House bill which will enable a union to become the bargaining representative of agricultural workers when it obtains authorization cards from a majority of unit employees, without a secret ballot election. The bill will now be sent to the Governor for her signature or veto.  If it is vetoed, the Legislature may attempt to override the veto during the regular legislative session which ends on May 1.

Although HB 2974 will largely affect only agricultural workers, the Hawai‘i Employers Council notes that it establishes a harmful precedent for employers in general. To organize a company, unions obtain authorization cards in which an employee signs a card designating the union as the employee's collective bargaining representative.

Employers have argued that authorization cards are sometimes obtained under peer pressure or other coercive methods and that employees often do not understand the purpose or effect of the signed cards.

State law now allows agricultural employers to request a secret ballot election even when a union has presented the employer with authorization cards from a majority of employees. Employers say secret ballot election reflects the true desires of employees. HB 2974 will allow unions to organize agricultural workers without a secret ballot election and an expedited procedure for initial contract negotiations. HEC says this is intended to pressure employers into agreeing to union demands.

“Even though HB 2974 will only affect agricultural workers and other private employers outside the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act, it sets the stage for further incursions by unions into the rights of both employers and employees,” HEC has told its members, urging that interested employers write to Governor Lingle to ask for a veto and to their legislators to express opposition to HB 2974.