ATR's letter to Congress endorsing the Secret Ballot Protection Act:

February 25, 2009

Dear Representative:

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), an organization which supports free markets, including labor markets, and on behalf of millions of honest American workers and their families, I am urging you to support the “Secret Ballot Protection Act,” to be introduced this week in the House by Chairman Price and Congressmen Kline and McKeon.

If signed into law, the “Secret Ballot Protection Act” will amend the National Labor Relations Act to preserve the right of all workers to a private election run by the National Labor Relations Board. This law would protect the self-determination of individual workers from the ill-conceived “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA), a.k.a. “Card-Check.”

In accordance with the legislation being introduced by Chairman Price and Congressmen Kline and McKeon, unions formed under the auspices of “Card-Check” would not be recognized. In addition, companies would be prevented from having to swallow burdensome, binding government arbitration in internal disputes.

The probable outcome of forcing companies to implement the “Employee Free Choice Act” is not encouraging. Employers, union organizers, and co-workers could see without restriction whether individual workers vote for or against unionization. This is because secret elections would be eliminated and replaced by open-air petitions where workers check cards to cast their votes. Big Labor’s notorious history of using violence and intimidation tactics against workers and their families on their own property, offering bribes for pro-union votes, and distorting the truth to employees makes it clear that the EFCA is nothing but a façade of pro-worker legislation.

Also highly problematic, the EFCA would mandate binding government arbitration in cases where unions refuse to continue with contract negotiations. Both the employer and the collective bargaining unit (the workers) would be forced to accept binding arbitration; regardless if they support the union or not. Decisions of federal arbitration boards in these cases would be binding upon both parties for two years.
 
Americans for Tax Reform endorses the “Secret Ballot Protection Act” and urges all Members to support this vitally important piece of legislation.

Onward,
 
Grover G. Norquist

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