CRITICAL: Obama Labor Union Law Would Threaten Economy

Barack Obama is co-sponsoring a bill that is an outright attack on business owners and workers. It's a stunning assault on voting rights in the work place.

Many people are unaware of the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill co-sponsored by Barack Obama, and sure to become law if he is elected - he's promised it will.

It's been through the House and the Senate already, and only two Democrats voted no for it. And the Democrats are set to take more seats this year in Congress.

The name of the bill is a complete euphemism - it's not at all about free choice. In fact the bill takes away (in most cases) an employee's right to a secret ballot when voting in a union election. Think of union organizers and their henchman who will have a list of every person that stands in their way of making all employees of any company members of a union. Unions aren't exactly known for their gentle and democratic ways of convincing others to join them.

Think of what a violation of basic democratic principles this is - forcing employees to vote in the open under possibly extreme coercion.

Two more ways it takes away freedom: employees wouldn't even get to vote if the union gets a simple majority of card signatures - the National Labor Relations board would be forced to certify the union as official. Also, companies who can't come to terms with this union would be forced into federal arbitration, and be stuck with whatever decision is forced on them.

Check out this excellent editorial here at the WSJ, where Bernie Marcus makes the case of how this is a threat to our economy.

Salient quote:

'George McGovern, a former Democratic senator and a champion of organized labor, called this bill what it really is -- "a disturbing and undemocratic overreach not in the interest of either management or labor."'

More info here from The Heritage Foundation.

Salient quotes:

"In one card-check campaign investigated by the NLRB, a pro-union employee threatened a co-worker by saying that if she refused to sign the union card, "the union would come and get her children and that it would also slash her tires."[9]
In another case, Thomas Built Buses agreed to recognize a United Auto Workers (UAW) card-check drive in exchange for significant advance wage concessions from the union. Employee Jeff Ward successfully challenged the sweetheart deal before the NLRB and forced the company to allow its workers to vote.[10] In response, the UAW posted flyers around the plant with Mr. Ward's home address, home phone number, and a map to his house. The flyers stated, "Jeff Ward lives here. Go tell him how you really feel about the union."[11]"

"Moreover, some organizers go beyond pressure to outright harassment. Hotel workers in Los Ange les, for example, had to seek an injunction against union organizers after groups of eight to ten organizers harassed employees on their homes' porches late at night.[14]"

"The Employee Free Choice Act would strip American workers of their right to a private-ballot vote, require companies to submit to binding arbitration, and increase penalties for unfair labor practices committed by employers but not by unions. Each of these provisions would be bad for American workers."

Card signing, instead of voting, is often carried out more like a high-pressure sales call, with union reps trained in how to agitate and coerce. They don't present the pro's and con's of joining a union, they are trained to manipulate the employee, in the coziness of their own home, into believing their lot will never improve unless they join the union.

So this bill gives the unions an edge in the fight - instead of a discussion of pro's and con's followed by a private vote, they only have to harass and pressure 50% of the employees to sign a card, and then this law will allow them to take control.

Why can't the unions and Barak Obama fight fair and let employees choose? Private ballot is critical to democracy. Imagine if you had to vote in the open for a presidential election, and when you walked in, thugs from the other political party were there in the polling station, ready to 'discuss' the situation with you before and after you vote, with them knowing exactly how you voted.

I guess this is the kind of "change" Barack Obama is hoping for. Issues like this are only a portent of things to come if the Democrats control the White House and all of Congress.