Congress: Keep Your Hands off Workers' Right to Private Ballot

Bedingfield files resolution opposing Big Labor legislation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. / January 13, 2009 - Today, State Representative Eric Bedingfield (District 28) introduced a House resolution urging the South Carolina Congressional delegation to oppose federal legislation to repeal South Carolina workers' right to a secret ballot in a union election.

 

Rep. Bedingfield said, "The right to vote by a secret ballot is the bedrock of our democracy. It's unconscionable to me that after a historic election with the largest voter turnout in South Carolina history, politicians in Washington want to repeal South Carolina workers' right to a secret ballot in a union election. This right should never be infringed and I call on the South Carolina Congressional delegation to oppose this anti-worker legislation."

 

The federal legislation that is the subject of Rep. Bedingfield's resolution is commonly referred to as "The Employee Free Choice Act." This poorly-named bill would repeal a worker's right to a secret ballot if a union organizing election was held in his workplace. Even though South Carolina is a right-to-work state, this federal legislation would allow labor unions to organize if only 50% of the workers signed a public union authorization card, or "card-check agreements." If a valid card-check agreement was passed, employers would have only 120 days to reach a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union, or else a mediator would draw one binding the employer to it, without the possibility of an appeal. Current federal law allows for secret ballot elections and card-check agreements, but the federal legislation would forever remove the secret ballot option for workers.

 

Rep. Bedingfield added, "In addition to being anti-worker, this federal legislation is also anti-business. In an economy that is on shaky ground, the threat of dramatically increased labor costs due to collective bargaining agreement won't create jobs. It will have a chilling effect on in hiring and start-up businesses. Congress should pass legislation that will help grow our economy, not swell the bank accounts of labor unions."

 

Rep. Bedingfield is a businessman and represents District 28 located in Greenville County.  He is serving his second term and serves on the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. For more information about his resolution and the damaging effects of the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," please contact Rep. Eric Bedingfield at (864) 230-7044 or BedingfieldE@schouse.org.

 

The text of Rep. Bedingfield’s resolution can be found below:

 

A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION OPPOSE LEGISLATION THAT DISENFRANCHISES SOUTH CAROLINA WORKERS BY REMOVING THEIR RIGHT TO A PRIVATE BALLOT UNION ELECTION

 

WHEREAS, the right to a private ballot when voting on external representation is fundamentally inherent in our representative Republic and shall not be infringed upon; and

 

WHEREAS, South Carolina taxpayers spend tremendous resources to foster and support free elections at home and abroad, it makes no sense to roll back the clock on our own workplace elections by abolishing federally protected private ballots; and

 

WHEREAS, the first right-to-work laws in South Carolina were adopted in 1954; and

 

WHEREAS, South Carolina's right-to-work laws give the State a distinct advantage when recruiting new industry and business; and

 

WHEREAS, passing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will replace a federally supervised private ballot election with a system that facilitates coercion and intimidation, known as "card check," whereby employees publically sign cards to vote for unionization; and

 

WHEREAS,  the Chairman of the U.S. House Education & Labor Committee, Rep. Miller (D-CA), and staunch supporter of the American "card check" bill, sent a letter to Mexican government officials which stated, "…we feel that the private ballot is absolutely necessary in order to ensure workers are not intimidated into voting for a union they may otherwise not choose."; and

 

WHEREAS, the bill would leave South Carolina employees vulnerable to harassment, misinformation, labor union pressure and would ultimately have a significant negative impact on the South Carolina small business community; and

 

WHEREAS, small businesses are less likely to have labor counsel and are more susceptible to the complicated legal restrictions employers face during union organizing drives; and

 

WHEREAS, this legislation departs from over six decades of precedent established by the National Labor Relations Act by imposing contract terms on private employers through a process of compulsory binding arbitration; and

 

WHEREAS, the mandatory binding arbitration provisions of the EFCA deny workers the right to participate in the collective bargaining process between employees and the union; and

 

BE IT RESOLVED that the South Carolina House of Representatives finds that so-called "card check" legislation such as the "Employee Free Choice Act" is detrimental to the rights of South Carolina workers and an offense against democratic principles, and urges all members of the South Carolina Congressional delegation to support worker freedom by opposing the EFCA and any of its components in 2009 and in future years.  

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the United States Congress and the members of the South Carolina Congressional Delegation.

 

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Click HERE for information on H.3305 (RELATED).