House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
Republicans
Rep. Howard P. “Buck†McKeon
Ranking Member
Fiscally responsible reforms for students, workers and retirees.
NEWSROOM
Press Release
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Alexa Marrero |
Card Check is Just the Beginning…Part II
As powerful union bosses continue to advocate for the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, public opposition to this anti-worker proposal has centered on a key provision—known as card check—that would strip workers of the right to a secret ballot when voting on whether or not to join a particular union. While it’s important to focus on protecting the secret ballot, the card check scheme includes other dangerous proposals that deserve public scrutiny as well.
Yesterday, Secret Ballot Watch exposed the binding arbitration requirements within the legislation as another anti-worker maneuver that would prevent many workers from voting on their first contract.
In addition to that troubling proposal, the card check plan would leverage harsh new penalties on employers for unfair practices during unionizing drives, but it does nothing to strengthen protections for workers against intimidation, pressure, or coercion by union leaders and organizers.
During a hearing on the unfair card check plan in the 110th Congress, Jen Jason, a former organizer for UNITE-HERE, described the tactics used by union organizers to get a majority of workers to sign cards.
“During the course of my employment with the union, I began to understand the reality behind the rhetoric. I took in the ways that organizers were manipulating workers just to get a majority on ‘the cards’ and the various strategies that they employed,” said Jason. “I began to appreciate that promises made by organizers at a worker’s house had little to do with how the union actually functions as a ‘service’ organization.”
By eliminating the secret ballot, the anti-worker card check plan opens workers to unprecedented pressure from union organizers trying to get a majority of workers to sign authorization cards. Without strong penalties against improper tactics like harassment and intimidation on the part of union organizers, workers would be left vulnerable. Yet the card check plan is conspicuously silent on the matter.