The President of the United States, 50 governors, 535 members of the House and Senate, and high-school homecoming queens.
What do all these people have in common?
They were all elected by the secret ballot, a practice almost as old as democracy itself – and one that is threatened by the Employee Free Choice Act.
The act promises to set aside that right for workers when forming a union, leaving them open to intimidation and coercion.
Supporters say this makes it easier to organize, but ironically, many of the act’s biggest backers are themselves elected by secret ballot.
Take the Teamsters, one of the most powerful labor groups in the country. According to their own constitution, secret ballot elections are used for several of their posts. Here’s one section, with emphasis on secret ballots added throughout:
Election of Delegates and Alternates
Section 5(a)(1). Delegates to any International Convention in which any International Union officers are nominated or elected shall be chosen by secret ballot vote of the membership …
Section 5(a)(3). Local Unions in Trusteeship may send delegates to the Convention only if a secret ballot election is conducted in accordance with Article XXII.
Here’s another section, again with emphasis on the secret ballot:
Election of Officers
Section 2(a). At the International Convention, delegates shall nominate candidates for International Union Vice President by motion made in open Convention by a delegate and seconded by another delegate. … To qualify for the ballot as a candidate for Vice President, a candidate who has been nominated from the floor of the Convention must, thereafter, receive at least five (5%) percent of the votes cast by the delegates … Such voting shall be conducted by secret ballot.
(b). Candidates for the three (3) Trustee positions shall be nominated by motion made in open Convention by a delegate and seconded by another delegate. … To qualify for the ballot as a candidate for Trustee, a candidate who has been nominated from the floor of the Convention must, thereafter, receive at least five (5%) percent of the votes cast by the delegates to the Convention. Such voting shall be conducted by secret ballot.
(c). After the nomination of International Vice Presidents and Trustees, delegates shall nominate candidates for General President and General Secretary-Treasurer. Nominations shall be made in open Convention by a delegate and seconded by another delegate. … To qualify for the ballot as a candidate for General President or General Secretary-Treasurer, a candidate who has been nominated from the floor of the Convention must, thereafter, receive at least five (5%) percent of the votes cast by the delegates to the Convention. Such voting shall be conducted by secret ballot.
Section 3(a). No less than four (4) months and no more than six (6) months after the Convention, candidates nominated for the ballot for the offices of General President, General Secretary-Treasurer, Vice Presidents, and International Trustees shall be elected by direct rank-and-file voting by members in good standing. All voting shall be by secret ballot.
Clearly, the secret ballot system works – even for supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act. The hypocrisy is too much for anyone, especially workers, and it’s just another reason why EFCA must fail.
# # #
