Pending union bill spurs debate over value of voting anonymity
By Audrey Spalding
Show-Me Institute
SAINT LOUIS — Though Congress has not yet passed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill that would strengthen labor unions’ bargaining power, some Missouri politicians opposed to that bill have already given up fighting it directly. A majority of U.S. senators, including Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, have voiced support for the EFCA.
The bill’s opponents have moved in part to plan B, arguing that the EFCA will take away workers’ right to vote anonymously. A national movement called “Save Our Secret Ballot” (SOSB) is a strategic effort to stop the federal legislation through state-level initiatives.
In the case of Missouri, that would be a 47-word amendment to the state Constitution requiring that union representation be established with a secret ballot election. SOSB proponents argue that the right to vote for representation anonymously should include the workplace.
The alternative, which the EFCA would allow if passed, would be for employees to choose their representation by openly signing a petition, or through a union card check. If more than 50 percent of employees sign up, the union would become the employees’ representative — no election required. This would enable unions to organize quickly, and perhaps more aggressively.
On Tuesday, about 30 Missouri business representatives, lobbyists and politicians — most, if not all, needed no convincing — gathered at the Holiday Inn in Crestwood and paid $20 each to have lunch and hear Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, former Missouri state senator John Loudon, and others speak in favor of SOSB.
Ray McCarty, president of the Associated Industries of Missouri, summarized the two main talking points of the lunch when he spoke briefly. “This is a threat to your business and threat to employees who want to choose by secret ballot what union they want,” he said.
Kinder, who received only $1,250 from labor organizations for his 2008 campaign, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, called EFCA “awful and Orwellian-named” twice during his speech.
Kinder stressed that he wasn’t anti-union, but said that the EFCA would give too much power to union organizers and drive up domestic business costs. “This is going to be a huge incentive for businesses to send jobs overseas,” he said.
Loudon, who will be speaking with Kinder in favor of SOSB elsewhere in Missouri throughout the week, said simply, “We’re all scared.”
Though the SOSB speakers included general statements about workers’ right to vote, no one explained specifically why businesses are so apprehensive about stronger unions. The general theme, however, seemed to be that unions would raise business costs. Tim Mooney, a SOSB director and Arizona political consultant, said that the cost for a business to switch from an unaffiliated workforce to union membership is about $9,700 per employee.
Hearing that, one attendee told the group he had spent $100,000 fighting union organization at his 40-person company.
“It was very, very expensive, and they do not stop,” he said. “We outspent them and put road blocks in front of them every time.”
Whether the EFCA becomes federal law depends on the votes of Washington politicians and, perhaps, the influence of lobbyists. But if Missouri SOSB supporters can obtain 180,000 legitimate petition signatures, the amendment will be put to state voters for approval.
It will cost SOSB about $2.25 per signature, Mooney said, for a total between $500,000 and $600,000. Citing SOSB polling numbers, he said there’s strong support for the amendment.
“If we can raise the money, we’ll make the ballot,” Mooney said. “If we can make the ballot, we’ll win the vote.” He said that if voters pass the amendment, it would send a strong message to elected officials.
“Lobbyists in D.C. can delay bills, they can kill bills, but only voters can kill issues,” Mooney said.
Republican strategist Karl Rove will talk about the Employee Free Choice Act on Wednesday at the St. Louis Club in Clayton. Hosted by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the Economic Freedom Alliance, the event is closed to the media. Attendees must pay $1,000 to gain entrance.
Other coverage of the event is posted at the Beacon’s website.
