WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, blasted Big Labor "Day of Action" rally for its strident support of the so-called "Card Check" Bill (H.R. 800).
Mr. Mix said, "Union officials actually want people to believe that rank-and-file workers can't wait to be under Big Labor monopoly rule. They want to intimidate the Senate, and they know they don't have the support of the average American, so they're hoping taking to the streets will do the trick."
The so-called "Card Check" Bill has already passed the U.S. House and has been placed on the Senate calendar. If passed, H.R. 800 would allow union officials to employ the coercive card check system during organizing campaigns.
Under the proposed card check system, all that would be needed for union officials to establish monopoly bargaining power is for a majority of workers to be intimidated into signing so-called "union authorization cards."
If a majority of workers sign these cards, union officials can establish monopoly bargaining - forcing all workers - even those who wish to have no part of the union - to accept "exclusive" union representation.
Unions already can decide to negotiate on behalf of only their own members, but instead of doing so, union officials want the government to pass new laws to make it easier to impose monopoly bargaining or "exclusive representation."
Under exclusive representation, individual workers are effectively banned from representing themselves. Then to compounding the injury, virtually every union contract calls for the imposition of forced dues and fees from the very workers whose rights have been stripped away.
Mr. Mix stated, "The fact is, under a card check system, union militants know which workers have signed cards and which haven't, so independent-minded workers are lied to, intimidated - and worse.
"Passage of H.R. 800 would enable Big Labor bosses to increase their power by trampling over works. If passed, you can bet the union elite will take full advantage."
Under current federal law, "card checks" are used only when a union can pressure an employee to accept them.
Even in these limited cases, Mr. Max stated they have proven time and again to be rife with abuse.
"During past card check elections, workers were lied to by union organizers about what the card really meant. Many others were subjected to significant intimidation in their homes, in front of their children, until they signed the cards. The Congressional testimony clearly shows this."
Rebecca Sutton, a former employee of Kaiser Permanente, described her experience with card check organizing. "I was shocked and felt violated when I mentioned to the union organizer that co-workers did not feel comfortable turning over social security numbers, salaries, and other personal information, only to be told that it didn't matter, the union already had the information."
Another employee of Kaiser Permanente, Karen M. Mayhew, went on to describe the abuse that followed. "[M]y colleagues and I were subjected to badgering and immense peer pressure. Some of us even received phone calls at home. While I let my feelings toward this union be known early on, I still was attacked verbally and in e-mail by my pro-union colleagues. I believe this abuse directed towards me was at the request of the union in an effort to intimidate me and have me back down."
Mike Ivey, a materials handler for Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, described a similar experience. "It wasn't enough that employees were being harassed at work, but now they are receiving phone calls at home . . . . The union's organizers refuse to take 'no' for an answer . . . . The only way, it seems to stop the badgering and pressure is to sign the card."
Mark Mix stated, "Not surprisingly, according to recent polls, the provisions of the 'Card Check' Bill aren't even supported by a majority of union members. The fact is, workers recognize just what they'll be facing should 'Card Check' pass."
According to a recent Zogby poll, full 78 percent of union members favor keeping the current system in place over replacing it with one that provides less privacy and eliminates the option of a secret ballot election.
Mr. Mix ended by saying, "That's why it's vital Americans urge their Senators to stand up to union boss pressure and stop this bill.
