On February 25, 2009 Representative Kline (Minnesota) and
Senator’s DeMint (South Carolina) and Enzi (Wyoming) introduced the
Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA).
Currently the most common method for determining whether or
not employees want a union to represent them is a private ballot
election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The
NLRB provides detailed procedures that ensure a fair election, free of
fraud, where employees may cast their vote confidentially without peer
pressure or coercion from employers or unions. Union leaders
however find private ballot elections to be an impediment and prefer
the card check process, where employees are forced to reveal their
position on unionization in front of union organizers and fellow
employees who support unionization. In a press release Senator DeMint
said “Voting by secret ballot is a fundamental principle of American
democracy, and it’s time to guarantee this basic right for every
American worker.” The SBPA would guarantee the right of American
workers to have a secret ballot election on whether or not to
unionize.
This bill is being considered at a time when employee rights
to a secret ballot are being directly challenged by the so – called
Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Expected to be reintroduced soon, EFCA
would take away a worker’s right to a federally supervised ballot when
deciding whether or not to join a union. It would replace private
ballots with a biased and inferior process called “card check” which
allows unions to organize if a majority of works simply sign a
card.
Join ALFA’s efforts to oppose the so called Employee Free
Choice Act and support the Secret Ballot Protection Act
Go to www.alfa.org/advocacy and find a prepared
letter supporting SBPA and opposing EFCA to send to your elected
officials. ALFA believes employees should have the same right
to privately express their decision on whether to join or not join a
union just as they do when electing their state legislators and members
of congress. Recent polling by the Coalition for a Democratic
Workplace found that 86% of voters, 88% of union households feel that
the voting process should remain private. See the release
below for more information.
