Butzel Long hosts half-day seminar on Employee Free Choice Act on June 26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Butzel Long attorneys will host an Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) Briefing from 8:30 a.m. to Noon on Friday, June 26, 2009 at Butzel Long's Bloomfield Hills office located at Stoneridge West, 41000 Woodward Avenue. The program is designed for senior managers, senior human resource executives, and in-house counsel.

The half-day seminar is entitled, "Employee Free Choice Act Briefing: What Employers Need to Know About EFCA and How to Preserve a Non-Union Workplace in the Future, with or without EFCA." Registration and continental breakfast are scheduled from 8 to 8:30 a.m. The program runs from 8:30 a.m. to Noon. The cost to attend is $95 per person. Seating is limited and registration is required. Register online at www.butzel.com. For more information, contact Loren Braswell at (313) 983-7497 or e-mail: braswell@butzel.com.

Enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act, or a compromise version of EFCA, represents the top legislative priority for labor unions. Its purpose is to make it easier for labor unions to organize new members, to obtain recognition by employers, and to negotiate first collective bargaining agreements with employers.

The Employee Free Choice Act, even if revised, would expose non-union employers to a substantially increased risk of unionization. EFCA was introduced into Congress in March, and upcoming legislative action remains a risk for all non-unionized employers – large, medium, and small – in all industries, including manufacturing, construction, health care, finance, and services. The briefing will address the following topics:

• Overview of the Employee Free Choice Act: "card check" recognition, mandatory arbitration of first collective bargaining agreements, enhanced employer penalties
• Review of the current federal labor law regarding union organizing, union authorization cards, union representation election campaigns, how EFCA would modify current federal law
• Review of the current status of Employee Free Choice Act in Congress: prospects for enactment as proposed, potential compromise versions of EFCA, prospects for enactment of an EFCA compromise
• Explanation of the EFCA proposal for the mandatory arbitration of first collective bargaining agreements and its potential impact on employers
• Review of the use of preventive employee relations strategies to remain non-union in the future, with or without EFCA
• Explanation of training and communication practices to make your workplace a great place to work
• Review of potential changes in NLRB law and procedures under President Barack Obama's NLRB

About Butzel Long

Butzel Long is one of America's leading law firms, with 240 attorneys and offices in Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boca Raton and Palm Beach, Florida, as well as Alliance offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Mexico City and Monterrey. The firm is also a member of the Washington, D.C. law firm Butzel Long Tighe Patton. Butzel Long represents clients from diverse industries on a regional, national and multi-national level and is a member of Lex Mundi, a global association of 160 independent law firms. Visit the Butzel Long website at www.butzel.com.

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Media Contact: Maribeth Farkas at Caponigro Public Relations Inc., (248) 353-3030.