Glenn Spencer: Union’s Card Check Gimmick.
Today, unions represent a scant 7.5 percent of private-sector workers, with the rest of their members employed in government, their only significant growth market. Demographically, the news is even worse: The largest single group of union members is between the ages of 45 and 54, nearing retirement — while just 6 percent of unionized workers are between 16 and 24.
Sadly, many unions seem to be choosing government power and restrictive legislation as their way out of the wilderness, instead of enhancing their value proposition. The AFL-CIO and its affiliates plan to spend $200 million of their members’ money to elect pro-labor candidates in 2008…
What makes this massive political spending so concerning is the element of coercion that lies behind labor’s political agenda. The centerpiece of that agenda is the Employee Free Choice Act, a masterpiece of Orwellian doublespeak.
The act would effectively strip workers of the protection of secret ballots in union certification elections. Replacing the privacy of the voting booth, workers would be asked to publicly sign cards indicating support for a union, exposing them to harassment and intimidation. Unions could badger workers repeatedly, at work and at home, to sign a card acquiescing to representation and, in most cases, employers would have limited ability to give workers their side of the story.
Could workers still choose to have a secret ballot election? Technically, yes, but in practice, no. Unions have made it clear that they will make the decision for workers, and they will never choose a secret ballot. Otherwise, why pour so much money into pressuring politicians to pass the card check legislation?
And one point unions can’t gloss over is that once they can “convince” enough workers to sign cards, it would be against the law to have a secret ballot election regardless of how many workers wanted one.
Why would unions, who claim to be advocates for workers, want to take the free choice out of forming a union? Well, secret ballot elections require investing time and resources into convincing workers that membership is worth the dues they have to pay. And there’s the risk that, in the privacy of the voting booth, workers may not choose the union.
The net result of this coercive legislation will be a lot more unionization — in retail stores, in restaurants, in banks and in high-tech firms — whether the workers really want it or not. And the impact on the economy, and the well-being of workers could be substantial.
Unions portray card check as a “ticket to the middle class.” In reality, states with the heaviest union presence tend to have slower economic growth, slower job growth, higher unemployment, higher costs of living, significantly heavier tax burdens and less entrepreneurial activity than states with the least union presence.
Taking away workers’ ability to make an informed decision about a union in private isn’t “free choice” — it’s tyranny.
Rocky Mountain News: Obama backs Free Choice Act.
John McCain opposes.
The Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win.
National Right to Work Foundation: Another Card-Check Myth Debunked.
John Hood: Workers, Prepare To Be Carded.