Employee Free Choice Act and the Preservation of Secret Ballots Act

Every employee has the right to organize and join a union.

Regrettably, this right has been violated for many American workers, particularly those in the private sector, for many years. Workers’ right to a secret ballot had been considerably weakened prior to the enactment of the Secret Ballot Act. The Act in the United States guaranteed workers the ability to choose whether or not to be represented by a union. Yet, this was accomplished by the card check approach, in which employees were required to declare their job publicly. Secondly, the Secret Ballot Act ensured that all workers were not intimidated and risk facing retribution for the position they take in connection with whether or not to be represented (Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2009).

On the other hand, the Employee Free Choice Act

was put in place as a replacement of the secret ballot system which required workers to sign union cards while voting for or against unionizing publicly. Proponents of this act argue that the Act allows for the exclusive representation of workers which was not permitted by the National Labor Relations Act. The Employee Free Choice Act also allows priority to be placed on preliminary investigations of charges against employers who discriminate their employees based on their wish to be represented by labor organizations. This inherently protects the right for unionization especially in the private sector where cases of discrimination can go unprosecuted or employees can be intimidated to remain unrepresented (“H.R.5000 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Employee Free Choice Act of 2016,” 2016).

Personally, I would support the Secret Ballot Act

on the basis that the Employee Free Choice Act inherently takes away the rights of the minority. Under the Act, once union organizers have collected signed cards from a majority of the employees, their colleagues are forced to join the labor organization without airing their opinion. As a manager, my opinion would not change because I believe that each worker has a right to choose whether or not to be a part of a union. Although union organization does not meet the standards set under the secret ballot in national elections, future changes and legislations would make this applicable.

References

Committee on Education and the Workforce. (2009). The Secret Ballot Protection Act. Retrieved from https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=195906

H.R.5000 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Employee Free Choice Act of 2016. (2016). Congress.gov. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5000