outbound
BY MITCH MAC DONALD, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
an entirely different sort of audacity
AS WITH MANY SECTORS OF THE U.S. (AND THE GLOBAL)
economy, organized labor remains a force and a presence in the
logistics profession. Although the days are long gone when the
Teamsters union had enough scale and sway to essentially cripple
the freight transportation industry, unions have not disappeared
from the scene. For a number of freight carriers, distribution center
operations, and third-party logistics service providers, dealing with
unions is still part of the daily routine.
As this issue goes to press, legislation is pending in Congress that
would profoundly change the way unions organize a workplace.
Called, somewhat ironically, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA),
the bill would prevent employers from requiring a secret ballot election when workers are deciding whether or
not to form a union. Instead, the proposed
legislation, which is supported by the current
presidential administration, would allow
labor organizers to unionize a company
through a process known as majority sign-up or card check. Basically, if a majority of
workers sign cards authorizing a labor
organization to represent them in collective
bargaining, the National Labor Relations
Board (the government agency that oversees
union/employer relations) would be
required to recognize that union as their bargaining agent.
Although our national history is rife with
examples of federal government leaders
(both members of Congress and the president) flouting the wishes
of the people they represent, pushing through the EFCA might just
set a new high (or perhaps low) in that regard. The American people overwhelmingly oppose the measure. A research report recently
released by BIGresearch shows that four out of five Americans support secret ballots in union organizing elections, and that support
for secret ballots is even stronger among union members. According
to the study findings, 81.4 percent of those surveyed said votes on
whether to join a union should be kept secret. Among non-union
individuals surveyed, 81.3 percent said such votes should be kept
secret, while in union households, 83.9 percent said the same. The
survey was conducted in April, with survey responses from 8,667
U.S. adults.
“These numbers tell us the vast majority of Americans believe the
secret ballot is a cornerstone of democracy and is just as important
in a union election as it is when voters choose a president or mem-
ber of Congress,” said Tracy Mullin, president
and CEO of the National Retail Federation,
the group that underwrote the research study,
in a prepared statement. “What’s especially
revealing is that union members hold that
belief even more strongly than people who
don’t belong to a union. Union leadership
might want to do away with the secret ballot,
but rank-and-file workers want
their votes kept private.”
Mullin rightfully points out that
replacing the secret ballot with a
process by which “a union can be
formed simply by signing membership cards” would subject
workers to intimidation and coercion on an unprecedented scale.
“The only way to guarantee workers a truly free choice on whether
to join a union is to continue letting them make that decision in a
voting booth and not with someone looking over their shoulders
to see whether they sign a union
card,” she said in the statement.
Mullin’s point is not only well taken; it is
fundamentally sound. It is very difficult to
imagine how members of Congress and the
president can consider showing such disregard
for the will of the citizens they serve. This is
clearly not the type of “audacity” 52 percent of
Americans were counting on when they cast
their ballots last November.
