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Union Democracy

A Backdoor to Card Check

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

Union bosses and their allies in Washington have made it clear that they want to expand their powers to grow union membership – even if it means undermining a worker’s right to a secret ballot. It is not entirely clear how they plan to accomplish this misguided priority in the face of strong bipartisan opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act on Capitol Hill. One particularly frighteni... Read more »

You Want Jobs? “Take ‘card check’ off the table”

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

With much fanfare, the Obama Administration held a “jobs summit” yesterday in an all but direct acknowledgement that their massive $787 billion so-called “stimulus” package had not produced the jobs they had promised. The White House invited a friendly audience to discuss how the government can help jumpstart the job market. Union leaders – regular visitors to the White House – were in attendance,... Read more »

EFCA vs. Jobs

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

As President Obama huddles at a White House jobs summit “packed with business leaders and economists supportive of White House policies,” it might be instructive to consider the economic consequences of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. After all, the legislation remains a top priority for union bosses – some of whom will be attending today’s White House gathering. Consider an op-ed penned f... Read more »

Union Organizer: “Card Check” = Strong Arm Tactic

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

It makes sense that businesses and a majority of the American people might not be in favor of changing union organizing rules to strip away a worker’s right to a secret ballot election. But what does it say about the Employee Free Choice Act when a former union organizer – someone whose job it was to grow union membership – thinks this policy is an affront to employees? “As a former union organize... Read more »

Democrats Plot “Compromise” on Workers’ Rights

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

With December upon us, the first session of the 111th Congress is rapidly coming to a close. Interestingly, one of the year’s first legislative priorities among Democrats and their special interest allies remains unfinished business in these last weeks of the year. The so-called Employee Free Choice Act (better known as “card check” legislation) was supposed to be a shoo-in for enactment. That is,... Read more »

Card Check: A Lifeline for Union Leadership?

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

With a decline in union membership over the last several decades, big labor is scrambling to attract more workers. It appears that conventional means of garnering support have failed. So, now union leadership is turning to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act in an effort to change the rules in their favor. The editorial board over at The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register reports that the mo... Read more »

What’s Worse Than a Sore Loser? A Sore Winner.

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

The arguments for the so-called Employee Free Choice Act have always been dubious. The act’s supporters claim workers face unfair pressure in workplace organizing elections. Their solution? A public sign-up process notorious for subjecting workers to intimidation, coercion, and the threat of retribution. Talk about unfair pressure. EFCA’s backers also claim current workplace organizing rules are s... Read more »

Las Vegas Newspaper Goes All In On Secret Ballot

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

If it makes the statewide ballot, an initiative to protect workers’ privacy in Nevada would be a good bet. That’s what the Las Vegas Review-Journal says in a recent editorial backing the measure, which is designed to prevent the “card check” provision of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The newspaper counts its chips here: “Paperwork was filed this week with the secretary of state's office t... Read more »

EFCA and Health Care Reform

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

If at first your bill doesn’t succeed on Capitol Hill, try hiding your agenda in another one. That seems to be the new strategy for supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act as their bill slowly dies on Capitol Hill. Instead of pushing for EFCA’s passage, they are now secretly slipping key special-interest items into the massive health care reform legislation. Houston labor lawyer A. Kevin Troutm... Read more »

EFCA By Any Other Name Is Just As Bad

| Posted in Secret Ballot Watch

Now they are getting desperate. In an attempt to save their dying bill, supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act are trying to introduce new words in the debate. The Service Employees International Union offered details of its substitution strategy in a confidential memo, and Politico lists the new lingo here: “The memo reflects the fact that unions and organized labor aren't universally popular... Read more »

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