Secret Ballot Watch

Enactment of the controversial card check scheme may be the highest priority of union bigwigs and many Washington Democrats wanting to provide payback for their political allies. But surely, the legislation is aimed at multi-national corporations and mammoth business interests with resources to engage in the complex negotiations and legal hurdles that come with card check organization … or is it?

Another persistent myth about the card check plan is that it exempts small businesses.

“The legislation doesn't apply to small businesses, so the corner grocery probably won't face an organizing drive,” writes one columnist. “[Binding arbitration] would not apply to small businesses, which have no collective bargaining rights under the NLRA,” reports a legislative news outlet.

Wrong again.

There is nothing in the so-called Employee Free Choice Act that specifically exempts small businesses from the harsh effects of card check, which includes hiring costly attorneys – and possibly a human resource manager – to legally speak to the leaders of the new union.

The only thing close to a small-business exemption is a patchwork of standards relating to the “dollar volume” earned by business, not profit. In practice, this extends the law’s requirements to establishments making as little as $50,000 a year in gross receipts, earning far less in profits – if they are in the black at all.

These rules, by the way, were established in 1959 – when Eisenhower was president. They have never been adjusted for inflation.

So that mom-and-pop grocery store on the corner? You bet it would be a target. The local deli with a few high-schoolers washing dishes and working the register after school? They are a target, too.

Also, can you imagine these businesses being forced to hire a personnel director or corporate counsel? Neither can most small-business owners, and many would shut down because of the costs. That’s one of the reasons why experts say 600,000 jobs would be lost in the first year alone if this legislation is enacted.

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