EC Georgia News

Congressman Rick W. Allen of Georgia has introduced a new bill aimed at amending the National Labor Relations Act to ensure that every vote to unionize a workplace is conducted through a secret ballot. The legislation, known as H.R. 2241 or the Secret Ballot Protection Act, was introduced on Friday.

In his statement regarding the bill, Congressman Allen expressed concern over what he perceives as efforts by Congressional Democrats to undermine workers' rights to privacy during union elections. He stated, "Congressional Democrats have been attempting to undermine workers’ rights to privacy in the union election process for years—which is exactly why we need the Secret Ballot Protection Act." He further emphasized that this legislation would eliminate threats posed by what he described as the deceptive 'card check' scheme and thanked Chairman Walberg for his support.

Chairman Walberg also commented on the issue, saying, "The secret ballot is a hallmark of our democracy that allows workers to freely vote on union representation." He raised concerns about attempts by Democrats and union organizers to remove the secret ballot, which he believes could lead to harassment and coercion of workers in favor of expanding union influence. "That’s why we need Rep. Allen’s Secret Ballot Protection Act: to protect workers’ access to their fundamental right of voting freely," he added.

Currently, federal labor law allows workers to choose union representation through a federally-supervised secret ballot election or via a "card check" campaign where they publicly declare support by signing an authorization card. The latter method can result in unions being recognized without a secret ballot if a majority signs cards with employer consent.

The proposed Secret Ballot Protection Act aims specifically to require secret ballot elections before any union certification or decertification can occur. It seeks to prevent employers from bargaining with unions not certified by such an election and prohibits negotiations between unions and employers before certification through a secret ballot.