Secret Ballot Watch

It has been widely reported and editorialized that the anti-worker card check plan would deny workers the right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to join a union. Unfortunately for the special interest groups promoting this undemocratic scheme, elimination of the secret ballot doesn’t play so well with the American people, to the tune of 74% opposition among union households and, likewise, among all voters.

In an effort to turn around their deteriorating fortunes, card check advocates have begun claiming that their plan preserves workers’ right to a secret ballot after all. There’s just one problem: it isn’t true.

Below is a letter circulated today by Reps. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), John Kline (R-MN), and Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA)—the top Republicans on the Education and Labor Committee; Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee; and Workforce Protections Subcommittee, respectively. The letter was sent to all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in an effort to debunk this dangerous myth.

Don’t Be Misled: Card Check = No Secret Ballot

Dear Colleague:

There has been a great deal of confusion, and even deliberate misinformation, circulating about the consequences of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would give workers anything but a free choice about whether to join a union.

To help clear up the facts, we decided to go directly to the source. Included below is an excerpt taken directly from the bill text of EFCA (more accurately described as “card check”) as introduced in the 110th Congress.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, whenever a petition shall have been filed by an employee or group of employees or any individual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging that a majority of employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining wish to be represented by an individual or labor organization for such purposes, the Board shall investigate the petition. If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a).

The last sentence is key: … the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative…

It couldn’t be any clearer.

Workers should have a free choice about whether to join a particular union. And the only way to guarantee that right is to ensure that the secret ballot remains the standard. Forcing workers to publicly declare their support—or lack thereof—for a particular union opens them up to pressure from all sides.

Don’t be deceived. The only way to provide employee free choice is to protect the secret ballot. When it is introduced and brought to a vote in the House, we urge you to stand with us in support of workers and reject this undemocratic plan.

Sincerely,

/s/     

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon  

/s/

John Kline   

/s/

Tom Price, M.D.

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