Leading Liberal Opposes Card Check Bill

In a democracy, the private vote is almost sacred. Nonetheless, Democrats in Congress are doing the bidding of labor union leaders by pushing the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA). That legislation would eliminate the secret ballot in favor of a card check-off when it comes to the question of labor union representation in the workplace.

Perhaps these Democrats should read an August 8 Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by George McGovern, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 1972 and a leading liberal for decades. Among the points made by McGovern are:

• “The key provision of EFCA is a change in the mechanism by which unions are formed and recognized. Instead of a private election with a secret ballot overseen by an impartial federal board, union organizers would simply need to gather signatures from more than 50% of the employees in a workplace or bargaining unit, a system known as ‘card-check.’ There are many documented cases where workers have been pressured, harassed, tricked and intimidated into signing cards that have led to mandatory payment of dues. Under EFCA, workers could lose the freedom to express their will in private, the right to make a decision without anyone peering over their shoulder, free from fear of reprisal.”

• “To my friends supporting EFCA I say this: We cannot be a party that strips working Americans of the right to a secret-ballot election. We are the party that has always defended the rights of the working class. To fail to ensure the right to vote free of intimidation and coercion from all sides would be a betrayal of what we have always championed.”

Makes one wonder who speaks for workers, and who speaks for labor union leaders.

Raymond J. Keating
Chief Economist
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council