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11/03/2008

Bloomberg Radio's "On the Money": The Future of Organized Labor

Columbus partner Mike Asensio, who practices exclusively in the area of Management Labor and Employment Law, was featured on the November 3 edition of Bloomberg Radio's "On the Money" program discussing how the outcome of the presidential election will affect the future of organized labor.

Asensio was asked to comment on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize employees in the private sector. "Employees have been able to choose, through a secret election, whether or not they wanted to be represented by a union. What this piece of legislation would do is change that dynamic. Instead of having secret ballot elections . . . unions would be able to file a petition claiming that a majority of employees had signed authorization cards in a given unit, and if that in fact is the case, the [National Labor Relations] Board would be required to go ahead and certify that union as the representative for bargaining."

Asked where both presidential candidates stand on the EFCA, Asensio said, "Barack Obama . . . in his role as a senator, was a co-sponsor of the Act and has said that if and when he is president, he will sign it into law. McCain, on the other hand, has very clearly stated that he doesn't believe it would be good for business and he would not sign it into law."