Secret Ballot Watch

You can add South Carolina to the growing list of states that are acting against the Employee Free Choice Act.  

In an essay for The State, state Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler announced that he plans to introduce a bill that would protect a worker’s privacy at the ballot box in the Palmetto State:  

“In this increasingly tough financial climate, the last thing we need is for Congress to pass a bill making life even tougher for small-business owners, especially in a state such as South Carolina, where small businesses employ most of the private-sector workforce. 

“That's why Greenville's Rep. Eric Bedingfield and I decided to author legislation that would protect a worker's right to a secret ballot when deciding whether to unionize in our state. 

“The bill calls for a question to be placed on the 2010 general election ballot that, if approved by voters, would guarantee that a worker's right to a secret ballot is protected in the same way as our votes for president, Congress or the Legislature. As majority leader in the state Senate, I have made this bill a top priority for the 2010 session. 

“The card check proposal in Congress would stack the deck in the unions' favor and hurt small businesses and their employees.” 

Peeler, “Boeing Proves Need to Stop Card-Check,” The State, 11.05.09 

North, south, east, and west, states are making it clear that workers’ privacy at the ballot box is non-negotiable. Yet somehow, the special interests behind EFCA don’t seem to grasp that simple fact. And unfortunately for workers and the state leaders fighting on their behalf, there’s no guarantee states would be able to trump the anti-worker federal mandate known as “card check.” That’s why EFCA must be defeated in Congress once and for all.

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