Secret Ballot Watch

The Employee Free Choice Act is probably not winning many supporters in Long Beach, Calif. – especially from tourists and business travelers who like a full night’s sleep.

For more than two weeks, activists have been regularly protesting the local Hilton in an effort to organize the hotel’s workers through the public sign-up process known as card check – the centerpiece of EFCA. Lately, they have resorted to 6 a.m. rallies featuring drums, sirens, and bullhorns that have become, as the hotel’s general manager says, “pretty disruptive.”

This prompted Gazette Newspapers, a community chain in Long Beach, to not only condemn the method of protest in a Wednesday editorial – but their preferred method of organizing as well:  

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“We have to go a step further and oppose the way Unite HERE wants to ‘help’ in deciding whether a hotel’s workers want to unionize. The union wants each employee to check a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ box on a ballot with their name on it — a de facto submission to join the union.

“The hotel managers say they are willing to let their employees vote on whether to unionize (in fact, they have no choice), but they want the election to be by secret ballot.

“Union organizers say that the secret ballot somehow allows the hotels to pressure employees to vote against the union. It is hard to understand how that pressure would work, since no one would know how an individual voted. And the National Labor Board stands ready to run an election with neither side involved.

“On the other hand, staring a union rep in the face, then checking a box that says you don’t want to join their organization can be daunting to some. The simple fact that the powers that be would have the names of those who voted for and against the proposition casts a pall over any election. …

“So here are a couple of recommendations — unsolicited, to be sure — for Unite HERE. First, drop the strident confrontation. Second, accept the results of a vote from the employees at the Hilton, the Hyatt and the rest.

“And let the employees there have a true choice through a secret ballot. It’s the American way.”

Editorial, “Counter-Productive Approach By Union,” Gazette Newspapers (Long Beach, Calif.), 09.23.09 

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Yes, let the workers have a true choice with the secret ballot (chances are, organizers, you might actually win). And let’s hope the Employee Free Choice Act doesn’t become the law of the land. If it does, an entire nation of workers – not just those in Long Beach – will receive a wake-up call they did not want.  

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