Banks on list of union targets

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090222/SUB/902219988

Labor prepares for blitz if Congress passes new law

Daniel Massey

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."

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