Everyone has seen the attack ads that hold that the Employee Free Choice Act denies employees a secret ballot. This is not true. It merely allows them to choose to honor an open, 51 percent petition as decisive. They remain free to choose to hold a traditional election.

Under current law, an election is held if 30 percent of the work force petitions for a union. Historically, the time between certification of the petition and holding the election is used by employers to indoctrinate their workers against the union. Employers have all the power. Everyone knows this.

In fact, it’s worse than that. There’s the matter of illegal coercion. During union drives 46 percent of workers report being pressured by management; 49 percent of employers illegally threaten to close; 91 percent force employees to attend one-on-one meetings with their supervisors; 30 percent illegally fire pro-union workers.

The idea that union intimidation causes unwilling workers to sign one way in public but vote another in secret doesn’t come close to passing the smell test. There’s no evidence for it. What’s more, is it really likely that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has become an altruistic champion of workers, protecting them from the evil unions that want to take away their secret ballot, and which advocate positions the workers detest? The evidence is that the card-check method of petition, in conjunction with mutual pledges of neutrality, is good for workers and good for business.

Michael S. Moore

Veazie