AAHOA Unites With the Latino Coalition, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and Other Minority Organizations Against Anti-Worker Card Check Legislation

ATLANTA. The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) has united with the Latino Coalition, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and other influential minority business leaders and workers across America to defeat the proposed legislation officially known as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), and also known as the Card Check bill.

AAHOA has 9,300 members, who own 22,000 hotels across the U.S., which is 40% of all hotels nationwide. As small business owners, AAHOA members create or support more than 800,000 jobs. AAHOA members make significant contributions to the nation's economic and cultural capital. These contributions require laws that permit our small businesses to succeed. The Card Check bill will have the opposite effect.

AAHOA strongly opposes the Card Check bill because it will deprive both employees and employers of important rights in the workplace:

• The bill will eliminate an employee's right to a federally-supervised private ballot election, and replace it with a "card check" process. The secret ballot process is a hallmark of our society and must be protected so that citizens can freely vote their conscience without fear of reprisal.
• The bill will deprive both employees and employers of the ability to make decisions concerning workplace wages and benefits.

"Our members and their families own and operate everything from small independent motels to full-service hotels all across this nation, and we are living the American dream" said AAHOA Chairman Tarun S. Patel, CHA. "We care for our hard-working employees, pay a very fair wage, and support them in their efforts to serve the traveling public in an excellent way. If passed, the Card Check bill will eliminate jobs and devastate our industry. The coalition of minority business leaders is in its nascency, and we encourage other leaders to join us so we can manifestly defeat this Card Check legislation."

AAHOA President Fred Schwartz agreed. "As the voice of hoteliers, AAHOA strongly opposes the Card Check bill. We are uniting with others who understand how the bill will negatively impact minority business owners across the U.S. We encourage Congress to take a stand and protect the rights of both employers and employees, because this is the very foundation of our country and important for our overall economic recovery in the upcoming years."