Morgan Lewis Partner Charles Cohen Testifies on Capitol Hill

On February 8, Charles (Chuck) Cohen, a partner in Morgan Lewis's Labor & Employment Practice, testified on Capitol Hill regarding the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800). Witnesses argued over whether or not the legislation protects workers' rights or takes away their ability to say no to a union organizing effort. Sponsored by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), the Employee Free Choice Act would allow unions to be certified to represent workers without a secret ballot election if a majority of workers sign union authorization cards. Committee Republicans and business groups say the bill would take away the right to a democratic voting process and allow workers to be pressured into supporting the union. Mr. Cohen's testimony stated that elections are generally fair, despite what some unions say. Citing NLRB election reports, he said unions are winning well over 50% of NLRB secret ballot elections involving new organizing.

View a PDF copy of Mr. Cohen's statement.

View a streaming video recording of this testimony.