By Congressman Joe PittsThere is a movement underway in Washington to take away the right of the secret ballot from American workers.
The Orwellian named "Employee Free Choice Act" is a bill that would allow for the establishment of a union if a majority of employees at a company signs a card as a measure of their support for unionization. This process, referred to as "Card Check," opens employees up to coercion and intimidation from parties on either side that may wish the employee to support or oppose the formation of a union.
The push to pass the bill is coming from union leaders, who have seen their membership decline from 24 percent of the workforce in 1977 to roughly 12 percent today. Their solution has not been to re-examine their political approach or the unrealistic demands that have contributed to the demise of American companies like GM and Chrysler. No, instead they have decided to ask Democrats in Washington to pay them back for their support at the polls by changing the rules of the game in order to serve their interests.
Right now, if employees want to form a union at their business, the National Labor Relations Board holds an election, in which the employees cast their vote in private, just like we do on election day. If a majority of employees vote in support of a union, the NLRB certifies the election and a union is formed.
Organized labor's leaders have long sought to make union organization easier, but the political environment has not been right for such a policy until now. Big labor turned out big in the November elections and put Democrats in charge. Now, they are asking for a payback, and Democrats in Washington look eager to oblige. In a recent speech to the AFL-CIO, Vice President Joe Biden was quoted as saying that organized labor "brought me to the dance a long time ago. And it's time we start dancing, man."
Publicly the best argument they can muster for enacting card check is simply that union membership has declined. Therefore, they argue, we must make it easier to establish unions in order to boost membership — and of course the dues that are often forcefully taken from workers paychecks. They even have the gall to claim that taking away the secret ballot would make the process fairer.
The secret ballot is a fundamental principle of American democracy. The notion that taking away the protection of the secret ballot somehow makes a process fairer is pure fantasy. If individuals want to join a union, they are certainly entitled to that right, and they can show their support with their vote. But if workers do not want to pay union dollars to be used to advance a political agenda they disagree with, they should also be afforded the same right to cast their vote free of coercion. And besides, what does getting rid of the secret ballot accomplish besides providing the ability of union bosses to intimidate employees into supporting unionization?
Yet, our principles are not the only thing that would be compromised by card check legislation. According to a new study by Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar, an economist with the non-partisan firm LECG Consulting, if card check was passed and union membership increased by 1.5 million workers in the first year — as its proponents claim —600,000 jobs would be lost as a result.
At a time when unemployment continues to rise, organized labor and Democrats in Congress continue to push legislation that will not only open employees to coercion and intimidation, but cost over half a million more jobs in our already hurting economy. The disconnect from reality is striking.
And the Employee Free Choice Act wouldn't just eliminate the secret ballot. It would put a countdown clock on arbitration that would have the effect of forcing employers to accept binding decisions from government arbitrators if no agreement is reached during the allotted time—without any vote by the company or its employees.
I believe we should protect all employees from intimidation and coercion — those who wish to form unions and those who do not. This is why I am an original cosponsor of the Secret Ballot Protection Act (H.R. 1176). This bill would protect the rights of workers to have secret ballot elections when determining whether to form a union. It prevents unionization based solely on card check and bars recognition of a union that was formed without a secret ballot election.
Card Check is an assault on the principles of our nation, and would be a job killer during a time when we cannot afford to lose more jobs. Yet Democrats in Congress have given every indication that they intend to pass the so-called Employee Free Choice Act anyway. It will surely do nothing to help our nation recover from this increasingly deep recession, and may do damage in the long run that leads to future economic calamity.
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts is a Republican who represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District in Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties.
