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| Friday, November 20, 2009 |
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ANALYSIS
March 2, 2009
Sagging Index no longer reflects what’s going on in the market, some say, Replacements? Google it, to start.
March 2, 2009
Downward price spiral will actually boost the cost of capital for most companies. CFOS, take note.
March 2, 2009
The latest bailout at AIG could be a preview of how the president will deal with Wall Street.
March 2, 2009
No corporate defaults. Big debt offerings. Percolating CP issuance. Things may be looking up in the capital markets.
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February 23, 2009 2:04 PM ET
(Crain’s)—Labor groups are targeting industries they believe they have a good chance of organizing should a new law be enacted making it easier for workers to join unions. The Employee Free Choice Act, which passed in the House of Representatives in 2007 but stalled in the Senate, is expected to be reintroduced in both houses within weeks. President Barack Obama has expressed his support for the measure. EFCA would require employers to recognize a union when a majority of workers sign authorization cards, and it would impose binding arbitration if an initial contract can’t be negotiated within 120 days. Under current law, an employer can call for an election, a process that gives companies the time to sway workers against the union. Many businesses fight unions in the belief that they drive up labor costs due to higher wages, benefits and work-rule changes. Meanwhile, unions claim that election campaigns favor management because supervisors often employ scare tactics to intimidate workers before a vote. Unions think employees in the financial sector are ripe for organizing, in light of the Wall Street crisis and the spotlight it has shone on executive compensation. The Service Employees International Union has already started talking with bank tellers, who earn a median salary of less than $25,000 a year in New York City. “Lots of bank tellers and bank employees are really angry that they face mass layoffs while executives are getting huge bonuses,” says Stephen Lerner, assistant to SEIU President Andy Stern. “Bank employees are talking with co-workers and with us about how to fix the financial industry so it works for consumers, workers and the country, not just executives.” Employers in the financial activities sector—which employs more than 450,000 people in the city, including many back-office workers—are not ready for changes in the law, employment lawyers say. “Historically, they never thought they were at risk of unionization,” says Michael Lotito, a partner at Jackson Lewis. “They have managers who probably wouldn’t know a union card or what their company’s position is on unions from a man on the moon.” Banking is not the only industry that will be targeted by labor. Any unorganized workplace, from major retailers to restaurants to hotels, will be fair game. “Should EFCA become law, I don’t think any sector should think it’s not likely to be the subject of an organizing campaign,” says Maggie Moree, director of federal affairs for the Business Council of New York State. Both labor and management experts expect unions to target a wide array of service industries. Business advocates and labor lawyers say employers generally have been slow to grasp the potential impact of the measure. “This will affect a lot of people who just have no idea of what they’re facing,” says Jeffrey Bernstein, chairman of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “My fear is there’s going to be people who are totally unprepared and find themselves unionized without understanding how it happened.” Some employers have taken steps to educate their workers and managers about the possible changes in the law. For example, Home Depot posted information about the proposal on an employee Web site and discussed it with managers during planning meetings. Burger King issued a memo to franchisees about the act. Peter Conrad, a partner at law firm Proskauer Rose, says even banks are starting to mobilize. “They’re bringing us in to do training and make sure supervisors know what they need to do before a union appears on the scene,” he says. “Believe me, if an employer is doing what it can do, it can make it as hard for the union to organize with EFCA [as without].”
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