Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Secret ballot card check

Businesses and their wingnut allies are frantic that the Democrats may enact card check as a means of authorizing collective bargaining by a union. They say that their concern is to prevent coercion of workers, but there's a little more detail: Their concern is to prevent union coercion, while leaving the field open for management intimidation and coercion.

In fact, card check has been the law of the land previously without the world coming to the end the Chamber of Commerce fears if those people gain more power. Still and all, the secret ballot is anti-coercive, and its loss could be a bad aspect in what is on balance a good idea.

Why not have both? If the state of Oregon can conduct its secret ballot elections by mail securely, why can't unions conduct their elections by mail in a way that avoids management intimidation but retains the secret ballot?

(h/t R. Neal at KnoxViews)

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