Secret Ballot Watch

Though Congress is not in session, the threat of pending legislation to deny workers the right to a secret ballot in union organizing elections is still very real. That’s why editorial pages around the country continue to pile on in opposition to this anti-worker, anti-growth plan.

On Sunday, an editorial in the Grand Rapids Press spelled out the dangers of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act – a bill that gives workers anything but a free choice when it comes to forming a union – and the Michigan paper made it perfectly clear why lawmakers should be opposed: 

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“The list of opponents should include anybody who values ballot box sanctity and worker privacy. Depriving employees of the right to make the significant decision about joining a union in the same way they decide who will be mayor or president of the United States would be a dramatic step backward for worker rights. Where the case for a union is strong, organizers should be able to confidently sell certification, regardless of how ballots are cast. …

“If the union case is so strong, it should be made fairly and in a manner that protects worker privacy. With this legislation, the union label is obvious and conspicuous. The Employee Free Choice Act is the wrong choice for the country and its lawmakers.”

Editorial, “Ballot privacy for workers,” Grand Rapids Press, 04.05.09 

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Card check legislation poses three specific risks to workers and the American economy: it effectively eliminates the secret ballot in workplace elections; it allows the government to dictate contract terms; and it fails to increase protections against intimidation and public pressure by union organizers. As long as any of these three elements are on the table, the legislation will be viewed as a threat to workplace democracy that must be defeated.

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