George McGovern on Card Check

George McGovern has never been one of my favorite politicians. George McGovern is a liberal and I am not.

No one can doubt George McGovern's liberal credentials. He was a liberal icon. George McGovern, however, was a liberal in the era when liberals actually believed in the democratic process. They believed in the sanctity of the ballot box. Now, I fear, liberals are willing to sacrifice the democratic process in order to achieve a desired result.

In a guest editorial in the Wall Street Journal, My Party Should Respect Secret Union Ballots, McGovern says, "I am sad to say it (card-check) runs counter to ideals that were once at the core of the labor movement. Instead of providing a voice for the unheard, EFCA risks silencing those who would speak."

He goes on to say, "I think much of the congressional support is based on a desire to give our friends among union leaders what they want. But part of being a good steward of democracy means telling our friends "no" when they press for a course that in the long run may weaken labor and disrupt a tried and trusted method for conducting honest elections."

I wish modern liberals had the same respect for democracy as George McGovern.

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Eliminating the Secret Ballot

Robert left a comment on my last post and quoted Media Matters that said that it is a myth that Card Check would end the secret ballot in unionizing elections. Robert is technically correct. The secret ballot would not be prohibited but it would, for all practical purposes, be eliminated.

Here are how things work now: Union organizers ask workers to sign cards indicating an interest in an election to vote on forming a union. Once 30% of the employees have signed cards, the union can petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a secret ballot election. Both the union and the employer are given the opportunity to argue their case with employees and then workers vote in a federally supervised election. If the union gets more than 50% of the votes, it is certified by the NLRB and the employer must begin collective bargaining.

Here is how it would work under card check: Once Unions get 30% of the workers to sign a card, they could still petition the NLRB to hold a secret ballot vote. The Company would lose the right to request a secret ballot election. If labor gets more than 30% of the employees to sign a card but less than 50%, NLRB could order an election. Once the union organizers get one more than 50% of the employees to sign a card, the NLRB would be required to certify the union and be prohibited from ordering a secret ballot election. There would be no restriction on when or where workers could be solicited to sign a card. The union organizer could come to a workers home at night and ask them to sign. Union organizers could go back to any worker who does not sign and ask them over and over until they do sign.

So, while it would not ban the secret ballot, you can see that it would effectively eliminate it.

To verify that the above summary is correct please research it for yourself. While I do not think Wikipedia is an authoritative source, I often think they are a handy reference to understand an issue. If you want to know more you may want to start there. (link)

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Save the Secret Ballot. Stop Card-check.

Card-check is the system that would replace the secret ballot in determining if employees wanted to form a union. Now, workers can vote in secret. Card-check would be a system of open voting. When a sufficient number of workers signed a form saying they wanted a union, management would have to recognize the union.

This proposal which had appeared to be dead for now looks like it will be slipped into Obama's proposed second stimulus bill, which is being promoted as a "Jobs Bill."
According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO’s legislative director, said the union "might consider 'other tactics,' meaning the card-check legislation or key parts of it could be placed into a larger jobs bill this year." (link)

Card-check is abhorrent to the very concept of democracy and rule of law. Card-check will encourage mob rule and violence and intimidation. The secret ballot should be considered sacred. Union thugs will bomb homes and beat up hold outs if they know who the hold-outs are. Also, management opposing unionization will know who has voted for unionization and my be tempted to retaliate against those who have supported it. Workers should not have to be exposed to either management or union intimidation. Card-check must not be allowed to pass. We must be vigilant and not let this get slipped in as part of a jobs bill.

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