Paybacks Are Hell

It appears that the time has come for organized labor to get reimbursed for the millions of dollars in contributions it gave the Democrats for last year's election. This reimbursement comes in the form of introducing and passing legislation for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which should more appropriately be titled Enigmatically Failing Corporate America. Passage of this bill will eliminate secret-ballot elections to determine whether workers want to unionize. Personally, I view this as a breach of the democratic process and another step in the direction of socialization.

It's rather ironic how both the House of Representatives and the Senate stress the importance of a secret ballot to elect their leaders. It's even more ironic that in 2001, following a labor dispute in Mexico, a group from the House of Representatives sent a letter to Mexican officials saying: "We feel that the private ballot is absolutely necessary in order to ensure that workers are not intimidated into voting for a union they may not otherwise choose." Among those signing the letter were none other than Barney Frank, D-MA; Dennis Kucinich, D-OH; Barbara Lee, D-CA; and George Miller, D-CA.

Ask yourself, what has changed in eight years that would cause this reversal in the thinking of the degenerates we've sent to Washington? All of a sudden, the importance of a secret ballot for individuals to determine their desire for union representation is no longer an issue.

Perhaps they believe the American people don't care and the government can do whatever they want. Or, perhaps they are naive enough to think that private ballots in the public sector have become a hindrance to the freedoms to which we've become accustomed. However they play the hand, their poker faces have become blinded by the thought of power. And now the time has come to pay back organized labor for anteing up its full support.

Yes, paybacks are hell, especially when they affect the rights of every American worker to use a closed ballot to vote their convictions on union representation. But to make matters even worse, buried in the bowels of this legislation is a provision that requires arbitration when a union and an employer cannot come to an agreement on a contract after the business is organized. This allows a federal arbitrator the right to come in and dictate the terms of the contract, which, in turn, will be binding for two years. Anything that affects workers' jobs and/or working conditions would be fair game. This could include wages, hiring policies, promotional opportunities and even retirement and health benefits. It could go so far as to include which jobs can be outsourced and which jobs must be performed in-house.

Anyone with an ounce of brains must see that EFCA is not for free choice, but rather places the private sector under government control and allows the government to run newly organized businesses. This could eventually lead to the unionization of all businesses with management control being held by federal arbitrators. Should this happen, be assured that America will no longer possess the ability to compete and prosper.

Every business, including manufacturing, retail, construction, accounting and others, needs to be aware of this proposed legislation and let its representatives and senators know the importance of voting it down. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has publicly promised that even if the economic crisis slows things down, EFCA will be approved. While I'm hoping he is wrong, it's a sure bet that our elected officials fail to think things through and tend to act in their own self interests.

As always, your comments are welcomed, especially concerning EFCA, or as I prefer to call it, Enigmatically Failing Corporate America.