Card Check

I am not a big supporter of unions and have blogged about this in the past. In a nut shell, although unions provide workers better wages and benefits, they make it nearly impossible for U.S. companies to compete globally. The auto industry is a perfect example. Today, it costs American car companies three thousand more dollars to make a comparable car than their Japanese counterparts. We have seen the effects of this disadvantage as both Chrysler and General Motors have filed bankruptcy. The United Auto Workers (UAW) offered very little in the way of concessions as their parent companies struggled and downsized. Thus, unions are a big reason for many jobs move overseas because companies try to find cheaper labor to compete globally.

Unions worked in the past when the United States led the industrial revolution and corporations did not have many global competitors. Unions helped to protect workers, but today there are government regulations that protect workers. Today, most major U.S. companies are competing in a global environment with new industrial powers, such as India and China, whose labor is much cheaper. Thus, unions are making it much harder for United States corporations to compete.

The workers in any company have the right to create a union. If 30% of the workers for a company sign a card saying they want a union, the company has to have a secret ballot with all the employees voting. If over 50% of the employees vote for a union, on a card or secretly, then the company becomes unionized. Union organizers can avoid a secret ballot if over 50% of the employees sign a card saying they want a union. This is called Card Check, which is highly supported by Democrats because it makes it easier for companies to unionize. Union workers back Democrats by over a 3 to 1 margin nationally. So it is no surprise that Democrats want to expand how many workers are in unions. Union leaders routinely fill their members with propaganda to manipulate them to vote for liberals. Unions routinely donate thousands of dollars to the campaign of liberal candidates. Republicans do not like Card Check because it takes away the secret ballot. Thus, if employers were intimidated by pro union supporters to sign a card, they may not get a chance to change their vote on a secret ballot.

Think of it this way, what if our political elections were not held by a secret ballot? What if polling precincts were overlooked by a special interest groups while individuals voted on local, state, and national politicians? Would this be fair? Of course not! Every American should be able to cast their ballot anonymously. For this reason people working in polling stations cannot advertise who they are voting for. Poll workers are not allowed to influence voters. So, why then would Card Check be legal and take away the American right for employees to vote anonymously without external influences? It is a mystery why this has not been found Unconstitutional.

Democrats are once again hypocritical on this issue. They are generally the ones that claim voter fraud or voter intimidation during elections, but they support Card Check. Go figure!