Workers Stood to Gain Little Under Labor Proposals of ’77

In his Dec. 24 column (“Time to Plant Seeds for Labor Law Reform”), Harry Bernstein once again writes with a pen that distorts and misleads. In his reference to 1977 labor legislation--H.R. 8410--Bernstein wrote: “The proposals then included such non-drastic proposals as the swifter imposition of tougher penalties on employers found guilty of violating federal laws and speeding up government-conducted elections.”

While the proposals may have sounded innocent enough, this bill almost certainly would have led to extortion by unscrupulous unions and a loss of worker freedoms.

I recently represented a client where the union had been working to organize the shop for six months before the company became aware of its actions.

The company became aware only when it received a petition from the National Labor Relations Board. Current law gave the company about 45 days to answer the union’s charges and to respond to their employees’ questions.

If the H.R. 8410 legislation of 1977 had been in place, the union would have been a certain victor: The election would have been held within 12 working days after the employer received notice of the union petition.

Current law, however, gave this company time to present the facts to employees. With time to make an informed decision, employees overwhelmingly rejected the union.

Bernstein preached fairness. Is it fair for the union to work secretly for six months and allow the company only 12 days to respond? I think not.

The mild proposals that Bernstein alluded to would have required employers to pay employees for attending a union meeting on company time and property. Is this fair? I think not.

H.R. 8410 stated that if an employer is found guilty of bargaining in bad faith, the company would have to pay the area agreement for the industry.

That would mean that a small grocery market, whose owners might honestly try to represent themselves because they could not afford adequate counsel, might end up paying the same wages and benefits as a Vons.

Such a penalty almost certainly would lead to chaos and bankruptcy for small businesses.

BERNARD MARGOLIS

Margolis Consultants

Agoura Hills