The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) does make significant improvements in the penalties for violating the NLRA, but those changes won’t solve the problems with the election process by themselves.

• The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is understaffed, so, much like OSHA, they will only show up after a violation has occurred.

• Enforcement can still be affected by politics.  A business-friendly Administration can:
  
             • Negotiate fines to meaningless levels,
             • cut NLRB funding, or
             • change its mission from enforcement to consultation,

• It will always be difficult to prove many violations because there are often no witnesses to threats or intimidation.
  

• Penalties will still be finalized long after the violation (such as an illegal firing) has intimidated workers.

Why EFCA is Important : What EFCA Does : Sign -Up vs. Secret Ballot : Coercion : Penalties : Arbitration : EFCA and Right To Work States