Secret Ballot Watch

There are better ways to protect American workers than the Employee Free Choice Act. 

Writing in the conservative opinion journal Human Events, Republican Reps. John Kline of Minnesota and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington spell out the act’s numerous flaws and present a positive alternative designed to truly empower workers. The piece is one in a compilation of articles highlighting GOP solutions to the major challenges facing our nation:  

“Instead of promoting free choice, the bill calls for a public sign-up process that opens workers up to intimidation, coercion, and the threat of retribution from anyone who disagrees with their decision. This is the infamous ‘card check’ procedure: a public voting process that has been denounced by workers and opinion leaders from coast to coast.

“To make matters worse, under the guise of facilitating contracts, it empowers federal bureaucrats to commandeer the negotiation process after a scant 120 days have passed, putting federal arbitrators in charge of everything from salaries and benefits to work rules and business practices. Despite rosy claims by supporters, this does not ease the negotiation process. On the contrary, it promotes bad-faith negotiating by encouraging outrageous demands in the hopes that a federal arbitrator will simply split the difference.

“Republicans have a very different plan.

“Our alternative – the Secret Ballot Protection Act, H.R. 1176 – permanently eliminates the uncertainty surrounding the union election process. It assures workers that no one – not a union organizer, not management – will know how they voted. Simply put, it guarantees workers will be able to vote with the privacy and protection of a secret ballot, empowering them to cast their ballot freely.”

Kline and McMorris Rodgers, “Card Check: The Conservative Alternative,” Human Events, 09.08.09 

Kline and McMorris Rodgers also note that the Secret Ballot Protection Act is needed to help modernize the American economy, which needs all the help it can get.

Republicans are doing more than simply saying “no” to the flawed proposals put forward by congressional Democrats. They’re crafting commonsense alternatives that will restore fiscal responsibility, promote job creation, improve health care affordability and accessibility, and ensure energy innovation, conservation, and independence. 

Anyway you look at it, the Employee Free Choice Act is not a good choice for workers. Republicans are offering better solutions for real employee free choice.  

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