President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to make unionization of private workplaces more widespread with federal legislation to eliminate secret ballots in worker elections to accept or reject union representation.
Without secret ballots, union representatives could strong-arm workers into checking a card indicating their desire for a union.
A national organization is taking the battle against "card check" unionization to the states with the following proposed state constitutional amendment language:
"The right of individuals to vote by secret ballot is fundamental. Where state or federal law requires elections for public office or public votes on initiatives or referenda, or designations or authorizations of employee representation, the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot shall be guaranteed."
Efforts are already underway in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada, and Utah. Kentucky's legislature is pretty well tied to big unions, but our General Assembly should have to explain why they want to take voting rights away from workers.
3 comments:
Who's to protect workers from management intimidation? WalMart pressured its employees not to vote for Obama.
The problem with a secret ballot at the work place is that management would know who showed up to vote, then find bogus reasons to fire them.
What's wrong with proponents of an issue circulating a petition? That's how recall initiatives are put on the ballot in California.
If management were really interested in workers' well-being, they would provide health care benefits, retirement benefits much like they do top management along with at least a living family wage.
Hempy,
Why would management fire people when they don't know how they voted? Your argument defeats itself because management supports secret ballots. There is nothing wrong with petitions; they just aren't elections. You aren't suggesting that getting a bunch of signatures on a petition in California should be enough to change the law, are you? That's what card check does.
I think the workers should be allowed to vote by secret ballots. If union reps know who will vote against the union then they will be far more agressive toward that person or persons in an attempt to get them to change their vote. Some may even be harassed and forced from their jobs due to the union reps behavior. Why has the President-elect decided we need more unions? Does he not realize the stress that would put on the ecomony? Many companies would go under if a union was voted in due to the large pay increases and healthcare packages that accompany every union. People would leave their jobs if they didn't join the union just to keep from being bullied into paying dues for something they never wanted in the first place.
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