Card Check: And Go Vote Your Secret Ballot
Thursday, November 20, 2008U.S. Rep. Health Schuler (D-NC) providing guidance to freshmen House members on how on how to vote on hotly disputed caucus races for chairmanships of importance committees:
Keep your vote close to vest, don’t make either chairman upset or mad, and go cast your secret ballot.
(And here’s the sound bite, from Power Breakfast, a news segment on WAMU radio.)
Elsewhere, Washington Times, “Unions sure organizing bill will pass,” based on an interview with the AFL-CIO’s government affairs director, William Samuel.
Under current law, whenever 30 percent of employees in a workplace sign union-authorization cards, employers have the right to demand a secret-ballot election. Under provisions of the unions’ proposed legislation that right would be revoked.
UPDATE by Keith Smith (12:05 p.m.): Schuler isn’t the only Member of Congress speaking up in support of secret ballots. Rules Committee Chair Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) said yesterday when asked about the contested race to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee: “It’s a secret ballot. Thank God.” If Members of Congress feel the need to vote in private, then they shouldn’t take away that right from America’s workers.
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