Secret Ballot Watch

Nearly two months into the 111th Congress, the special interest groups and congressional Democrats behind the anti-worker card check plan aren’t having much luck convincing the American people to support their undemocratic scheme. Editorials and opinion articles continue to appear all across the country decrying the proposal to deny workers the right to a secret ballot in workplace organizing elections.

Card check has proven immensely unpopular because it effectively does away with secret ballots and the protections they afford to workers. Under the card check plan, as soon as a simple majority of workers have been publicly convinced to sign cards, the union will be certified. Workers do not have the choice to seek an election at that point in the process, a fact that special interests have refused to acknowledge.

It’s no surprise that editorial pages from big cities to small, rural communities have chimed in to oppose this special interest power grab. From Boston, Massachusetts to the Santa Clarita Valley in California, card check opposition can be found from coast to coast and everywhere in between. Take the opinion piece that appears today in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Argus Leader:

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“The Employee Free Choice Act will take away the secret ballot and empower union organizers to approach employees in the workplace or even in their homes, pressuring them to sign a card or forcing them to openly refuse to sign in the presence of union leaders or fellow workers.

“Private ballots protect the independence of the voter and his or her ability to freely make choices immune from this type of pressure. Truly free choice demands secret ballots.”

Owen, “Perilous Legislation,” Argus Leader, 02.17.09

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The voice of the American people can be heard loud and clear, from editorial pages overflowing with card check opposition to the recent national poll that found 74 percent of voters are opposed to the plan. The sooner special interests and their allies in Congress drop plans to enact this undemocratic plan, the better.

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