Secret Ballot Watch

Earlier today, the Obama Administration released a budget blueprint for FY 2010 that taxes, borrows, and spends its way into an unprecedented era of bigger, more intrusive government. Small businesses – along with the rest of the American economy – will be forced to pay the price for this government spending spree, making it more difficult to create jobs and help our economy bounce back.

And this morning, we were reminded that small businesses face another threat to their productivity and viability: the anti-worker card check legislation, which would open small businesses and their workers to aggressive organizing tactics and costly new federal binding arbitration requirements. A Fortune Small Business article appearing on CNNMoney.com describes the threat to small businesses:

“During the past 20 years, Bob Cook's half-dozen employees have twice considered forming a union. Cook, who owns Cook Paper Recycling in Kansas City, Mo., says union organizers invited his workers to a tavern both times. Over free beers, the employees enthusiastically signed union cards, but when it came time for the secret ballot - a second step that employers can insist on - they voted the idea down.

“‘The secret ballot is essential,’ says Cook. ‘It removes fear of intimidation.’

“That second step may disappear this year, leaving business owners more vulnerable to unionization and the higher labor costs that go with it. …

Kimes, “Labor battle looms in Congress,” Fortune Small Business, 02.26.09

Small businesses are critical to job creation and economic recovery, and lawmakers ought to pursue policies that help them thrive, not stifle their growth. That means a budget that doesn’t raise taxes, and defeat of the anti-worker, anti-growth card check plan.

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