Secret Ballot Watch

The so-called Employee Free Choice Act – a misnomer if ever there was one – is widely known for its imposition of card check organizing, a process that eliminates the secret ballot for workers deciding whether to form a union. And it’s no wonder. This attack on worker privacy has drawn the ire of Americans from all across the political spectrum.

However, a somewhat lesser known provision has grown in prominence recently as political observers have become aware of a twin attack on workers’ rights: the forced government contract.

The proposal has been called “calamitous for the U.S. economy,” and for good reason. It empowers faceless government bureaucrats to set salaries, hours, working conditions, benefits, and other terms of employment for two years – and workers won’t have anything to say about it.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich explains in today’s Politico— 

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“Once a worksite is unionized through the elimination of the secret ballot, if the employer and union don’t agree to terms in just over three months, a federally appointed arbitrator would impose wages, benefits, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment on both the employees and employer.

“And what about the rights of the worker? Workers, who didn’t vote on the formation of the union to begin with and lost their right to participate in a secret-ballot election, would now have a contract thrust upon them without their vote or consent.

“And the employer? Within days of the union’s formation, the small-business owner would need to find and hire a labor lawyer to attend to the contract negotiations, whether he or she can afford it or not. …

“In the history of this country, government has never proved its capacity or capability to exceed the performance and productivity of those engaged in private enterprise. Why, then, should we trust government to know enough about the nuances and market forces at play in a particular industry to set wages and benefits for workers?”

Gingrich, “Arbitration the real threat in EFCA,” Politico, 04.22.09 

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The card check proposal hits workers not once but twice when it comes to their fundamental right to vote. It could deny the secret ballot in choosing to join a union, and then deny any vote at all on a contract that dictates pay and benefits. This isn’t about free choice – it’s about no choice at all.

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