Chamber Board fights for small business

Recently, the Board of Directors of the Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber took positions on two critical issues facing the business community.

Issue: Employee Free Choice Act
Background: The original Employee Free Choice Act before Congress would give union representatives greater access to private businesses. EFCA language would also eliminate the private ballot process (Union Card Check), opening workers up to the pressure of unions and their membership.

• Two sided signature cards: this would allow workers to check one side of a card if they want a private ballot or the other side if they wanted to organize by signatures only.
• "Quickie" elections: this retains secret ballot elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board but it requires them to be held within a 5-14 day timeframe after a union files their petition.
• Access to employees: allowing unions to come into an employer's property to confront workers in lunch rooms, break rooms or other locations can be disruptive to the operations of a business.

Position: The Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber opposes an EFCA "compromise" that threatens to water down the protection of a private ballot, interfere with an employer's right to communicate with their workers, impose binding arbitration, or puts in place one-sided penalties.

Issue: Federal Health Care Proposals (HR 3200 - America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009)
Background: Congress is seeking to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system in an effort to cover uninsured individuals. These proposals could mean rationed health care, employer mandates in addition to higher taxes. Of the new proposals, the most contentious issues are:

• Creation of a "public plan": a government-run plan that would compete with the private sector. The Lewin Group estimates 130 million people would move from private to public insurance, a short step from a single-payer system. This is unfair competition as it ultimately shifts costs to the private sector.
• Employer mandate: a pay or play requirement of mandated health insurance for all employers. Employer mandates limit flexibility and innovation - the foundation of voluntary employer provided health care.
• Minimum coverage: proposing a Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) i.e., specific mandates to be included in health insurance packages. One option being considered to generate revenue for this program is to impose a small business surtax. However, dealing with a sluggish economy and having difficulties obtaining bank loans, a surtax would hit these businesses especially hard.

Position: The Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber opposes legislation that would enact a government-run, public health care plan. Instead, Congress should reform the insurance market and find ways to control costs. People should not be forced to buy into an unaffordable system: the solution should focus on improving the quality and affordability of health care through market-based changes. Market forces and employer autonomy should determine what benefits employers provide rather than Congress. Without serious steps to decrease healthcare spending, any such plan would accelerate the onslaught of a health care financial meltdown.