Union End-of-Secret-Ballot Legislation Update
On Monday, Matt at Weapons of Mass Discussion noted the hypocrisy of the laughably misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act,” which, if it becomes law, would make the following situations all legal at the same time:
- No secret ballots for union elections in the US (replaced by “card check,” a non-secret signature collection method subject to coercion and intimidation; covered previously here, here, and here).
- Secret ballots required for union elections in Mexico. (most likely as a result of NAFTA and CAFTA; anyone with a link to where the requirement is should e-mail me or leave a comment with a link)
- Secret ballots usually required to decertify a union.
“Priceless” — US workers will be less free of union and management coercion in Mexico than they are in the US.
Actually, the Act’s passage will have a price. Union leaders won’t want to hear this, but it’s true — The Act’s passage will be an open invitation to take more jobs overseas, where, incredibly, the labor situation in many other countries will be more predictable.
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UPDATE: It would appear that those supporting the Act in Congress are hopelessly out of touch with their constituents, even if they ignore Republicans. Check out this McLaughlin & Associates poll (converted to HTML from PDF and saved at host for fair use and discussion purposes), which shows overwhelming support, including 89% of Democrats, for keeping the secret ballot in union elections.
UPDATE 2: George Will — “Clearly, the act aims less to help workers than to herd them as dues-payers into unions.”
