A new business-backed group, named Save Our Secret Ballot, Dec. 30 announced a national campaign to urge states to adopt constitutional amendments requiring secret ballots for union representation elections.
The group said it had begun to push the amendment in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada, Utah, and the District of Columbia, with plans to announce more states in the coming weeks.
"Most of us assume voting by secret ballot in America is a constitutional right that has always existed and always will," said former Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), who serves as the group's national advisory board chairman. "But neither is the case. With America's right to a secret ballot under serious threat, I'm proud to be part of a citizens' movement to give voters the opportunity to vote by secret ballot, to amend state constitutions to guarantee the right of a secret ballot."
The 47-word amendment was written by attorney and constitutional scholar Clint Bolick, director of the Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. The amendment reads, "The right of individuals to vote by secret ballot is fundamental. Where state or federal law requires elections for public office or public votes on initiatives or referenda, or designations or authorizations of employee representation, the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot shall be guaranteed."
Campaign Costs.
Tim Mooney, one of the group's directors, said that the campaign intends to spend "$1 million plus" in each state, with the money being raised from "small donors."
While he wouldn't detail who would donate the money, he said the group would not accept "six and seven figure dollars." He said the overall total depends on how many states show "leadership and support" for the issue.
Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have been gearing up for the approaching congressional battle over legislation—the Employee Free Choice Act—that would allow unions to be recognized based on authorization cards signed by employees, with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) performing a card check and determining whether the union has majority support. The legislation allows for unions to choose between using the authorization cards and secret ballot elections.
Supporters of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act in June 2007 fell nine votes short of the 60 needed to limit Senate debate and proceed to final consideration of the bill (123 DLR AA-2, 6/27/07). Prior to the Senate vote, the bill passed the House in March 2007 on a 241-185 vote (41 DLR AA-1, 3/2/07).
The 51-48 Senate vote was almost completely along party lines, with 48 Democrats, two Independents, Sens. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) and Bernard Sanders (Vt.), and one Republican (Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) voting for the cloture motion and 48 Republicans voting against it.
In the next Congress, Senate Democrats will likely have at least 58 votes for the bill. Supporters will need 60 votes to overcome an expected procedural obstacle from Senate opponents.
The Senate race in Minnesota between incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) remains undecided. If Franken were to win and Specter remains supportive of allowing a vote, the bill could pass the Senate.
Specter Factor.
However, Specter spokesman Kate Kelly said Dec. 30 that the senator was not in support of or opposition to the bill. "He's still studying it," Kelly said. "He's rather in favor of examining the bill."
In a recent statement, Specter said that the NLRB is "dysfunctional," and that labor law needs to be reformed.
"I'm considering very carefully the merits," Specter said. "Labor has declined tremendously in membership because of a lot of outsourcing, a lot of problems with pensions, a lot of problems in many lines. On the other hand, you have the tradition of the secret ballot, which is very fundamental in America, is in our political process the way we elect the president, senators, etcetera."
Fred Azcarate, director of the AFL-CIO's Voice at Work program, the federation's effort to "restore the basic human right of workers to form unions," told BNA Dec. 30 that the new group is a "shadow corporate front group."
"Overstock.com is not a small business," Azcarate said, noting that Overstock.com President Jonathan Johnson sits on the group's board.
Azcarate said his organization has not planned a counter campaign at the state level but is closely monitoring the new group's efforts.
In addition to Bolick, the group's board members include: Gilbert Baker, Arkansas state senator; Adam Hasner, Florida state house majority leader; Paul Jacob, Citizens in Charge; John Loudon, Missouri state senator; Mark Meierhenry, former South Dakota attorney general; Brian M. Johnson, executive director of the Alliance for Worker Freedom; and Sydney Hay, president of the Arizona Mining Association.