Phony Concern for Workers?

It’s depressing enough that Sen. Arlen Specter killed the Employee Free Choice Act for the sake of political expediency. What’s worse is the way anti-union special interest groups are congratulating Specter on behalf of workers.
For example, the National Association of Manufacturers commends Senator Spector:

“According to NAM President, John Engler, EFCA is a flawed piece of legislation that will destroy jobs and prolong current economic recession. Card check would deprive American workers of their right to secret ballot when deciding whether they want union representation, replacing it with system that would expose employees to intimidation and coercion.”

This is reminiscent of Pravda, back in the days of the USSR. The talking point about destroying jobs is one the Right trots out whenever raising the minimum wage is on the table, yet when minimum wages eventually are raised, somehow the “job killing” predictions don’t come true. They’ve cried “wolf” on that one a few times too many.

What about the other claim, that “Card check would deprive American workers of their right to secret ballot when deciding whether they want union representation, replacing it with system that would expose employees to intimidation and coercion.” First, it’s a lie that the EFCA would have deprived workers to a secret ballot. The bill gives workers a choice, and they could still choose to vote up or down on a union by secret ballot if that’s what they want to do.

There’s a reason so many groups like NAM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce want to preserve the secret ballot. It takes some time to organize a secret ballot election. Over the years employers have found many ways, legal and illegal, to intimidate workers to prevent union membership from coming to a vote. Through a simple card signing process, workers can make their wishes known without giving management a chance to stop them. The EFCA also provides for mandatory mediation if management refuses to negotiate with a new union.

But let’s go back to the National Association of Manufacturers. NAM funds a special lobby called the National Association of Manufacturers - Asbestos Alliance. According to Public Citizen, the chief purpose of the Asbestos Alliance is “campaigning for federal legislation that would close off judicial relief for asbestos victims.” Diseases associated with asbestos exposure include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Most dangerous exposure occurs in the workplace. NAM’s concern for workers is as heartfelt as its concern for those suffering asbestos-related disease.

Barbara O’Brien
March 27, 2009

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.