Yesterday afternoon, organized labor rallied on Capitol Hill in support of card-check legislation that would effectively end secret ballot elections for workers.
At the rally, at least one worker claimed that 90% of his colleagues signed cards supporting a unionization election, but it turns out when workers cast their secret ballots, the pro-union forces only won by two votes.
Organized labor claims that secret-ballot elections lead to intimidation by employers, but if 90% of workers signed cards when confronted by union organizers in dark parking lots or in vacant break rooms and then only a very slim majority actually voted to unionize when those union operatives couldn’t see their votes, doesn’t that prove that union intimidation is much worse than employer intimidation?
We asked that simple question to two union officials at the rally, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Not surprisingly, neither were really able to answer the question. Check it out in the short video below:
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[...] Ed Frank got a chance to ask John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, a couple of questions about the Employee Free Choice Act at a rally for the Card Check legislation yesterday, as well as another union official. The rally talked endlessly about how Card Check would protect workers and allow employees to form unions, but Ed never got an explanation of how the secret ballot manifests itself as an unfair labor practice. He didn’t get any clarification from his interviews, either: [...]
Pingback by Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Labor officials can’t explain why they need to dump the secret ballot February 5, 2009 @ 1:35 pm[...] Ed Frank attended a rally held by organized labor in support of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, which as we all know, would open workers to a wide array of intimidation tactics by removing their right to a secret ballot. “At the rally, at least one worker claimed that 90% of his colleagues signed cards supporting a unionization election, but it turns out when workers cast their secret ballots, the pro-union forces only won by two votes. [...]
Pingback by Employee “Free Choice” Act « Grand Rants February 5, 2009 @ 2:19 pm[...] Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, we find the excellent work performed by Ed Frank at Wednesday’s Big Union gathering where Mr. Frank could not get a straight answer about card [...]
Pingback by Dear Sen. Lincoln: The AFL-CIO can’t answer on card check at The K. Ryan James blog February 5, 2009 @ 2:20 pmThanks for this video. At my job when the new class of trainees were done with our orientation, a number of union leaders came in. They had menacing looks on their faces and everyone signed up with the union, including me. After their support for Barack Obama and other anti-family actions, I have had enough and I am getting out.
Comment by Blue Collar Todd February 5, 2009 @ 2:44 pmNo Answers…
Video: Labor officials can’t explain why they need to dump the secret ballot
Ed Frank
Trackback by Always To The Right February 5, 2009 @ 2:57 pmgot a chance to ask John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, a couple of
questions about the Employee Free Choice Act at a rally for the Card
Check……
This was a great opportunity to expose the phony justification for “card check,” but Frank’s poor interviewing skills muddy the impact of the interviews.
Comment by Rick February 5, 2009 @ 11:07 pm[...] Ed Frank got a chance to ask John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, a couple of questions about the Employee Free Choice Act at a rally for the Card Check legislation yesterday, as well as another union official. [...] Read the rest » [...]
Pingback by Video: Labor officials can’t explain why they need to dump the secret ballot « Dirty Democrats February 6, 2009 @ 4:08 amIt seemed to me that your question was answered. I don’t know what big business interests are paying you but your anti-union stance surely comes from that sector. I worked as a union organizer. I am 5′6″ tall and weigh about 150 pounds, not exactly a threatening force as you think union organizers are. There are no intimidation tactics used to get employees to sign cards. The problem with the secret ballot (as explained by John Sweeney) is the time between the filing for an election and the actual election leaves between 2 to 6 months for the employer to run an aggressive anti-union campaign with employees required to go to anti-union seminars and rallies. I’m sure you understand that but your loyalty to big business and against the American worker won’t let you understand it.
Comment by Will Cox February 8, 2009 @ 10:10 amI appreciate your comment. For the record, nobody paid me to produce this video, although I obviously have a point of view on this issue. Also, it seems to me that employers should be given an opportunity to explain why they think unionization would be detrimental, and that the final decision should be made through a secret ballot election. Finally, I take you at your word that you didn’t try to intimidate anybody in your union organizing days, but the former union organizers featured in this other video obviously didn’t have a problem with it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1b2UtZ2S6Q
Comment by frankstrategies February 9, 2009 @ 8:59 am