Secret Ballot Watch

There are four ways for Congress and President Obama to create more jobs in America – and one of them is to “renounce” the Employee Free Choice Act.

That’s what University of Chicago economics professor Steven J. Davis says in a recent essay for Forbes magazine.

Davis writes that instead of extending unemployment benefits or pursuing other policies that would drive up the deficit, lawmakers should work on budget-friendly proposals to get the economy moving again.

Davis offered four ideas to accomplish this, including rolling back costly health insurance mandates and experimenting with back-to-work programs while assessing their results.

Notably, his recipe for recovery singled out one “grossly misnamed” proposal before Congress that he believes ought to be scrapped: the Employee Free Choice Act. He elaborates here:

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“The Free Choice Act would eliminate the secret ballot requirement. Instead, union certification would require only that a majority of workers sign cards supplied by the union. This ‘card check’ process is rife with potential for strong-arm tactics and intimidation by union supporters. Sign here or else! 

“It's unclear whether the Free Choice Act and card-check provision will become law. Fears that the act might become law are enough to chill investment by firms that could be targets of card-check union certification. To allay these fears and remove the chill from investment, President Obama and congressional leaders should forcefully renounce the act now. If they won't, moderate Democrats should step forward and publicly announce their opposition to the act. By taking this step, they would help restore business confidence and set the stage for more job-creating investments.” 

Davis, “Getting Back To Work,” Forbes, 10.14.09 

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The Labor Department is scheduled to release the latest unemployment figures next week. Currently, the national jobless rate stands at 9.8 percent – and many expect it to go even higher. If they’re serious about reversing that trend, the Democratic majority can start by dropping EFCA altogether. 

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