Secret Ballot Watch

Apparently, even a snowstorm blanketing the eastern seaboard cannot quell editorial opposition to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would strip workers of the freedom to vote privately, through a secret ballot, on whether to join a union. Over the weekend, editorial pages from one coast to the other added their voices to the growing chorus of opposition to the special interest card check plan, in which workers would be forced to vote via a public card signing process, making their vote known to both union leaders and management.

Starting on the West Coast, the Pasadena Star-News urged Congress and the Administration to back away from the controversial card check plan.

“This is not a fight that the bipartisan-minded president should invite at this time. That's one reason why it would be beneficial for Obama and Solis to hold off on card check. Besides, we're not convinced the need for easier union access is on the front burner, not in today's difficult economic climate and when jobs are disappearing at alarming rates.”

Editorial, “Hold off on card check,” Pasadena Star-News, 02.28.09

Heading east to Virginia, Lynchburg’s News & Advance tried to pin down key Democrats in Congress about where they stand on workers’ right to a secret ballot:

“Do you support the right of an American worker to decide, in secret and in private, whether he wants to be represented by a labor union on the job? Yes or no? And no dodging the question.”

Editorial, “Congress’ Chain Needs Yanking When It Comes to Card Check,” News & Advance, 03.01.09

And in Southern Florida, the Sun-Sentinel echoed widespread concerns about how card check would impact workers:

“The deceptively-named "Employee Free Choice Act" would allow a union to claim certification if a simple majority of workers signs the card — thus dispensing with the secret vote.

“Doing so would open the door for a lot of coercion and intimidation, in the workplace, in homes. Theoretically, a union could gain certification without every employee, or management, knowing about it.”

Editorial, “It's no secret: Democracy thrives with secret ballot elections,” Sun-Sentinel, 03.01.09

Editorial boards are showing no signs of letting up in their efforts to urge, scold, shame, and even implore congressional Democrats to drop their support for this anti-worker plan.

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