Amendment aims to thwart union legislation
Sen. John Loudon will unveil a campaign Tuesday to preserve the requirement for secret-ballot elections to certify labor bargaining units.
Loudon’s group, which calls itself Missouri Save Our Secret Ballot, plans to present petitions to the secretary of state to change the state constitution. The goal is to exempt Missouri from a controversial measure pending in Congress.
That measure, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would make it easier for unions to organize a workplace. It would allow a union to be formed if half the employees simply signed a petition, without the need for a lengthy secret ballot election process. The bill passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
Kansas City political consultant Jeff Roe, who is working on the anti-union campaign, said Missouri is one of five battleground states where the drive will kick off this week. Other states will be added later, he said.
I for one would like to know how Missouri could exempt itself from the proposed federal law even with a change in the Missouri constitution.
I support the Employee Free Choice Act and so do many in the state.
The biggest problem with unions is their intolerance of the independent worker. If unions would allow independent workers to co-exist with the union workers I would have absolutely no problem with the union folks. It certainly is the right for a group of workers to unite and bargain collectively, but that should not usurp my right to independently negotiate my own employment agreement. In addition, as an independent worker, I should have absolutely no obligation to support the union via dues, initiation fees.
Allowing a petition to take the place of a secret ballot puts many workers rights at risk and allows unions to be formed via peer pressure. How could anyone support the Employee Forced Choice Act in the 21st century?
If unions weren’t afraid to allow independent workers, then we would certainly see just how more productive a motivated independent worker can be.
Here are some alternatives to the liberal-biased headline of this blog:
* Amendment seeks to protect independent worker’s rights
* Sen. Loudon seeks to prevent union voter fraud
Or perhaps what Virginia really meant:
* Stupid Loudon hates unions and wants them all fired via a constitutional amendment (and Republicans suck)
garyro - I believe Virginia did not provide us with enough information to know the answer to your question. It depends upon what the Act says. Who knows.
Unions… We might as well facilitate unions in other sectors do what the UAW did to the big three. Organized labor has become perverse.
I have heard nothing about this union effort to eliminate those pesky ”lengthy” secret elections. Sounds like Loudon is calling them out. The question is whether the ”mother ship” will call them out to or if they will continue to protect their union bretheren by relegating the mention of this issue in the blogs.
This is great! Finally, a group willing to fight for the real rigths of workers. My only worry: I have heard that this group is going to pursure RIGHT TO WORK in Missouri. Joe
Garyro-
The initiative (which will be voted on by the people) will ensure that all elections required by law (federal or otherwise) must be done by a secret ballot.
The NLRA (and the Taft Hartley Act) allows states a certain amount of leeway when it comes to Labor-Management relations. For instance, states can chose to be “Right to Work States” as opposed to the normal “Union Shop” states.
As for supporting the EFCA, only Democrat elected officials (purchased by the millions of dollars in union campaign money) and a group of paid union hacks support this ridiculous legislation. How can ANY American say that it is a more fair process to take away someone’s right to choose your employment future in private (secret ballot). Only a Goon and a Bully would want you to make that decision in front of them.
This is about Unions increasing their membership, their dues, and helping to fund their insolvent pensions. This has nothing to do with the individual well-being of people that aren’t even their members!
Whether you like unions or not, getting rid of the secret ballot is just plain wrong. We have a secret ballot in politics to prevent intimidation and corruption. This is all the more important in the workplace, where retaliation can cost you your job.
Come on people, wake up…The past eight years have been terrible for Unions thanks to the idiots in DC. You still have to SIGN a petition. Then all it takes is one third of the employees to sign a petition for a secret ballot. As for lining anyones pockets, for once we have been able to raise more money than the Republicans and that is not because we have more membership. It is because more people (union and non) are seeing that the country was heading in the wrong direction. Look at the job losses. Card checks have been close to impossible the past eight years because of the DOL… Finally we will get a fair shot.
Loudon…you’re a loser. Accept it.
You were 14 years old when Missouri de4feated the “Right to Work” amendment in 1978. Sorry..No one is listening. Thanks to people like you, unions are back in full force….Lobby for Corporations. Make a ton of money, and steal it from the working class families of Missouri. You deserve it.