Secret ballot for unions big issue for labor, business

[Doondoo]

When the House approved a bill Thursday that would make it easier for workers to form a union, Kathy Swan cringed. She owns seven stores in Missouri and Southern Illinois that sell Verizon cellular products and suddenly she had visions of labor leaders from Washington knocking on her workers' homes to persuade them to call for a union — and then telling her what to pay them.

"That's a frightening thought," said Swan, whose father started the business selling two-way radios in 1959. "How would they know what we could afford? We might even have to lay some off."

But the same congressional vote left Bob Soutier, president of the St. Louis Labor Council, exulting over prospects of an "level playing field between employers and employees."

"I was just elated," Soutier said. He promised that legislators who voted against the measure will be held accountable. "We are going to expose them for the anti-worker politicians they are," he said.

The bill, known as the Employee Free Choice Act, would allow workers to form a union at their job if more than half sign a card authorizing the union, a process known as card check. They would no longer have to hold a secret-ballot election, though that would still be an option. Currently, only the employer has the right to waive the election and accept a union based on card-check. The act also stiffens penalties for employers who improperly intimidate, harass or fire workers trying to form a union.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/washington/story/DFCCCDF1E70B4E4A8625729300730684?OpenDocument

[AndyTiedye]

1. We Take It That Kathy Swan's Union Busting Tactics Have Been Successful Up to Now

If they have to call for an election, she would have time to intimidate her employees with threats of layoffs.

[Rosemary2205]

2. Card check is a really important tool against union busting.

They are running ads around Atlanta telling people the proposed law will strip workers of their freedoms and allow union bosses to terrorize workers. Unfortunately too many people will buy into that propaganda and not realize that the measure is being proposed because it's the employers that are doing the intimidating.

[Solo_in_MD]

3. The case has yet to be made that the secret ballot is a bad thing

the complaints revolve around how long it takes to implement. That indeed needs to get fixed, but the secret ballot should remain.