Letter to U.S. House Condemning Vote for HR 800
August 24, 2007
Dear Representative,
On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), business owners, and American employees and their families, I am writing to express extreme disappointment in your alignment with big labor in voting for H.R. 800, the alleged “Employee Free Choice Act of 2007.” By voting for H.R. 800, you directly compromised your constituents’ freedoms and placed their safety and the safety of their children and families in jeopardy by making them vulnerable to organized labor threats and union-thug crime.
As you know, H.R. 800 would eliminate a worker’s right to a federally-supervised private ballot election. This would be replaced by a kind of open-air petition known as a “card check.” Under this system, workers would lose their right to privacy. Employers, union organizers, and co-workers would all know the worker’s choice about being represented by a union or not.
Too often, unions have resorted to petition-like “card check” campaigns which take the decision on union representation from the private voting booth to the front porch of workers. Reports have indicated that the public signing (or not) of these petitions leads to violence, bribery, and/or distorting the truth to workers. This bill, if passed, will encourage more of the abuses resulting from these “card check” petitions.
Besides risky “card check” schemes, H.R. 800 has two other “goonish” demands from Big Labor. It would require mandatory government arbitration in the event that unions stonewall contract negotiations. Employers would also be frozen out of the ability to make staff changes (including raises and promotions) in the event that a union wants to organize workers.
In closing, I wish to personally inform you that this vote will be scored in our Congressional ratings and by voting for H.R. 800; it will negatively affect your contention for the Guardian of Worker Freedom Award. Despite turning your back to the plight of the worker and voting to compromise their freedom at the benefit to union muscle and labor-thugs, as you know, the Senate voted against cloture.
Undoubtedly, however, the 110th Congress will face many more votes that present choices between workers rights and union bosses. AWF encourages you to keep protecting worker-freedom at the forefront of your decision making from this point forward.
Sincerely,
Brian M Johnson,
Director of Policy
