Unions and business battle over 'card check' bill

The decline of union power in the United States is the driving force behind proposed legislation awaiting a Senate vote that would make it easier for workers to organize by doing away with secret-ballot elections. In 1983, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking union membership data, 20.1 percent of the workforce was unionized. Fast forward to 2008 and only 12.4 percentof employees nationwide belong to unions, according to the bureau.

Supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act, or "card check" bill, say the current system suppresses employees' ability to form unions by ultimately putting the decision to unionize into the hands of employers.

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