House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

Less than a week after the only hearing held exclusively on legislation to expose workers’ private votes in union organizing elections and make them completely and utterly public, Education and Labor Committee Democrats today announced the cleverly-worded “Employee Free Choice Act” would be hurried along for a vote in Committee this Wednesday – coincidentally, a day on which it may be barely noticed because of the U.S. House debate on supporting American troops in Iraq.  

So why the hurry?  Why do Democrats and Big Labor supporters of the card check bill want to rip the band-aid off so abruptly? 

Maybe it’s because they’ve been exposed as insisting on secret ballot union elections in Mexico, even though the card check bill they support would end that right for workers here in the United States.  On August 29, 2001, many current sponsors of the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” told Mexican officials, “We understand that the secret ballot is allowed for, but not required by Mexican labor law.  However, we feel that the secret ballot is absolutely necessary in order to ensure workers are not intimidated into voting for a union they may otherwise not choose.”

Or maybe it’s because they’ve been exposed as demanding secret ballot rights for workers seeking to decertify a union.  Big Labor has passionately insisted on a secret ballot election in these cases, calling the vote a “solemn” occasion, imperative to preserving “privacy and independence.”   

Or, maybe it’s the unyielding stream of negative editorials and op-eds that have exposed the undemocratic and hypocritical nature of this legislation. 

Editorials and op-eds like this one in the Detroit News. 

Or this one in the Grand Rapids Press.

Or this one in the Wall Street Journal. 

Or this one in the San Francisco Examiner.

Or this one in the Washington Times. 

Or this one in the Boston Herald. 

Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that House Democrats and the Labor Bosses who guide them are all too eager to rip off the band-aid just as soon as possible.  And, given all that’s been exposed in just the last week about this effort to kill secret ballot rights in the workplace, who could blame them?

U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Republicans
http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov | (202) 225-4527