Removing the secret ballot (updated)


The Democrats fill one campaign promise
Big Labor and the Congressional Democrat Leadership want to stick it to the little guy. They want to remove the secret ballot from the unionization process.

The union claim is that employers are engaging in rampant unfair labor practices to prevent employees from exercising their right to organize. But data from the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees union elections, show no rise in such activities. The reality is that union membership has been in decline for decades, and labor leaders are desperate to rig the rules in order to reverse the trend. In the 1950s, 35% of private-sector workers were unionized. By the early 1980s the number had fallen to 20%, and today it stands at just 7.4%.

The reason for this decline isn't illegal management meddling in organizing efforts. The problem is that unions haven't been able to persuade the workers themselves. Our own, longstanding position is that when a company is organized it is almost always the company's fault. But workers of all classes and skills can also read the news and understand that unions no longer provide job security, if they ever did. The most heavily unionized industries--such as airlines and Detroit carmakers--are typically those that are financially beleaguered and shedding jobs. Workers know that unions often provide short-term wage gains at the cost of longer-term job insecurity.

I'll admit I am not fond of unions, I believe very strongly that when unions exist, it's because management and ownership dropped the ball. I believe that it's possible and better for all sides if companies and employees join in mutual benefit. Personally, if I were a business owner, if there was a vote for a union and it passed, I would cancel any employee stock ownership plans or similar benefits, but then that is me.

The bigger issue here is the individual, and that is the whole reason behind the secret ballot. If people can't vote for how they really feel without fear of reprisals, than they are locked in the tyranny of the majority and doomed to collectivism.

Let people choose for themselves. After all, isn't that what unions were about originally?

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - March 1, 2007 at 02:59 PM  Tag


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