Secret Ballot Protection Act Would Ensure All Workers Have a Free and Fair Workplace
WASHINGTON — Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist urged the candidates for House Majority Leader to commit to supporting HR 874, the “Secret Ballot Protection Act.” This bill would require that a workforce have the right to a free and fair election before a labor union is imposed upon it.
HR 874 would make it much more difficult for labor unions to organize workers through so-called “card check” campaigns. Currently the tactic of first resort for unions, card check campaigns strip workers of the right to vote in a secret ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead, workers are coerced by unions to sign a kind of petition known as a “card check.” When 50% plus 1 of all workers sign this petition, a union is established right then and there.
“Having a free and fair election with the privacy of a voting booth should be a sacrosanct American principle,” said Norquist. “It isn’t too much to ask that Congressmen seeking to lead the Republican majority stand up for this principle.”
HR 874 currently has 77 co-sponsors in the House. In particular, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) can reasonably be expected to take a stance on this. In Boehner’s case, his current leadership of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce gives him jurisdiction. Shadegg has long-standing ties to the conservative Republican Study Committee, many of whose members have become cosponsors.
“Much of this leadership race has turned on the question of ethics and being above-board,” continued Norquist. “A good way for a candidate to demonstrate his commitment to openness and fairness in their conduct is to support the Secret Ballot Protection Act.”