U.S. Chamber Study Refutes Union Rhetoric

Data Exposes "Card Check" and Other Labor Initiatives are Not Workers' Ticket to Middle Class Prosperity

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released a series of reports exposing the false claims by union leaders in recent years to advance a radical agenda that is inconsistent with economic growth.

"Listening to the union rhetoric would give the impression that radical changes are needed in laws governing union organizing," said Randel Johnson, the U.S. Chamber's vice president of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits during a press briefing today. "The facts tell a different story, and now is the time to set the record straight.

"These papers demonstrate that the reality of the American workplace looks nothing like the version depicted by union propaganda," he said. Responding to Union Rhetoric: The Reality of the American Workplace highlights the inaccurate arguments used by labor leaders to support an agenda that demonizes employers, upsets the delicate balance in labor laws, and would hinder the recovery of our economy.

"Rewriting American labor laws mandating recognition through the card check process and replacing collective bargaining with binding interest arbitration cannot be justified," Johnson said. "Yet, unions and their allies have continued to argue that they need card check legislation without recognizing the delicate balance struck under the National Labor Relations Act between unions and employers. These papers explain why maintaining this balance is important."

As the first part of the U.S. Chamber's campaign to correct the record on the economic impact of unions, this report explores organized labor's assertion that workers are worse off today than they have been in the past, offering perspective based on opinion polls and economic data.

The complete report is available at: www.uschamber.com/unionrhetoric

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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