Legislation stripping away privacy rights

One of the most remarkable stories of the 2008 election was the success Democrats had establishing themselves as advocates of fiscal responsibility, lower spending and limited government. How well are they delivering on that message?

The most egregious example of putting party discipline above economically sound policy came when Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought up the Employee Free Choice Act. The current state of unionization is on the brink of complete reformation in the most dangerous sense, and Oklahomans should be aware of the facade the current proposal is slithering behind.

This act would abolish secret-ballot elections for union certification. The bill would allow unions to organize via so-called card-check campaigns, in which union representatives can collect signatures to form a union without any privacy protections. Organizers could go to workers’ homes, openly pressure them in front of co-workers and use other high-pressure tactics to collect signatures with no time limit.

The card-check procedure presents a risk that workers, stripped of privacy protections, may be compelled to accept unions they don’t want. The public opposes the bill by overwhelming margins, more than 80 percent in most polls. By forcing workers into unions that are aggressively anti-business, the bill could cause severe job losses and economic damage to Oklahoma.

The second aspect is the mandatory arbitration that would ensue if the "union” and the employer couldn’t come to an agreement in 120 days. This arbitrator would be a government bureaucrat appointed by the Obama administration to ensure that "the best agreement is met.” Given that Democratic legislatures and administrations typically favor card check, the subsequent uphill battle could threaten our individual liberties that free and fair elections are supposedly grounded in.

The state Senate passed a joint resolution opposing EFCA. When the state House passes it, we will join around 20 other states in sending a clear message to Congress that Oklahomans prefer to keep their ballots secret and government out of our businesses.

The taxpayers of Oklahoma don’t want their right to privacy violated and stripped away by one swoop of the presidential pen. Tell your state officials and Gov. Brad Henry that you don’t want Oklahoma to fall victim to the whims of congressional leaders in Washington, and to pass the joint resolution opposing card check.