The so-called Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "Card Check", is likely the biggest legislative threat you've never heard of. The nation's labor unions are aggressively pushing a far-reaching and radical agenda to, in its own words, "take back the economy." Headlining the agenda is legislation to make it cheaper, faster and easier to unionize Main Street businesses and small retail establishments.

Under existing law, employees are allowed to vote for union representation through secret ballot elections. To begin organizing workers, a union must solicit employee signatures on union authorization cards. Once the union has collected signatures from enough employees-a minimum of 30 percent-then the union can request an election. If a majority of workers-expressing their choice in the privacy of the voting booth-support the union, then the employer must begin bargaining with the union. If most workers vote against the union, then it does not represent them and must cease its organizing activities. Unions win recognition in over 60 percent of these elections.

Under the proposed Card Check legislation, an employee's right to vote by secret ballot is effectively eliminated. The law would require employers to recognize a union- without an election-once organizers collect signatures on authorization cards from a majority of employees. Under the proposed law, holding a secret ballot election once unions collect cards from a majority of workers would become illegal. Critics charge that without a secret balloting process, workers are open to undue pressure and coercion from union organizers.

Card Check would make it cheaper, faster and easier to unionize Main Street businesses, small service and retail establishments and industries that have never experienced unionization before - including the professional salon industry. For example, in a business with 10 employees, union organizers would need only 6 signatures to force the business to recognize and bargain with the union. Employers may not even realize they are being targeted.

"A business owner can go home on Friday thinking everything is OK and come back on Monday and find out that the union had gotten employees to sign the card over the course of a weekend without the employer having any idea that there was an effort under way," said Sam Leyvas, PBA's director of government affairs. He adds, "Small businesses are particularly vulnerable because they may not have the legal resources needed to withstand a unionizing campaign."

There is strong support for Card Check legislation by some members of Congress and President-elect Barack Obama. In fact, the House of Representatives approved the legislation in 2007. However, labor unions were unable to get the legislation through the Senate this year. Card Check legislation is expected to be a priority of the new administration in 2009.

To learn more about this issue, visit probeauty.org/advocacy or contact Sam Leyvas at 800.468.2274 x3437 or sam@probeauty.org.