Congressional Liberals and Big Labor Allies Attack Worker Privacy and Basic Democracy
–Federally-Supervised Private Ballot Elections Under Assault from Hill Liberals and Union Thugs–
WASHINGTON — Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist today condemned the introduction of H.R. 800, the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act.” The bill would strip workers of their right to a federally-supervised private ballot election and replace it with a privacy-destroying and risky “card check” scheme.
H.R. 800 would eliminate a worker’s right to a federally-supervised private ballot election. This would be replaced by a kind of open-air petition known as a “card check.” Under this system, workers would lose their right to privacy. Employers, union organizers, and co-workers would all know the worker’s choice about being represented by a union or not.
“This bill ought to be called the ‘Baseball Bats for Big Labor’ Act,” said Norquist. “This is what organized labor wanted from Democrats if they ever re-took the majority: the right to threaten and intimidate workers by stripping them of the protection of a federally-supervised private ballot.”
Besides risky “card check” schemes, H.R. 800 has two other goonish demands from Big Labor. It would require mandatory government arbitration in the event that unions stonewall contract negotiations. Employers would also be frozen out of the ability to make staff changes (including raises and promotions) in the event that a union wants to organize workers.
“Much of this bill is the “greatest hits” of labor law reform, 1970s-style,” continued Norquist. “This is undoubtedly the dying gasp of a great, lumbering beast. Even wounded animals can kill, though, and workers need to fear the bear in the woods.”