Secret Ballot Watch

In what many view as a signal of its continued commitment to the unpopular card check plan, the Obama administration has announced that a high-profile advocate of the controversial measure will serve as a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. The Associated Press reported on this development late last week: 

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“President Barack Obama has appointed a key union activist as senior adviser to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, another sign of the influence that organized labor wields in the Obama administration.

“Mary Beth Maxwell spent the past five years as executive director of American Rights at Work, a nonprofit group pushing for passage of a bill to make it easier to form unions. …

“Democratic leaders in Congress hope to bring some version of the Employee Free Choice Act to a vote this summer. Democrats are trying to rally enough votes to overcome an expected GOP filibuster.

“Former Democratic Rep. David Bonior, chairman of the board at American Rights and Work, suggested Maxwell's new post would bolster union efforts to pass the labor reform legislation, also known as ‘card check.’

“‘Her knowledge and experience will aid the administration and the Labor Department in supporting this and other policies to benefit working families throughout the country,’ Bonior said.”

 Hananel, “Union activist appointed to Labor Department,” Associated Press, 04.24.09

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From executive orders that disadvantage non-union contractors to regulatory rollbacks on union accountability and transparency, serious questions are being raised about how close the administration’s ties are to this special interest constituency. Now, with the appointment of a “union activist” known for advocacy of a controversial plan to take away workers’ right to a secret ballot, it’s no wonder workers and small businesses are worried.

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