Imagine the pressure of being asked by union thugs to vote for them to represent you. Then imagine that your ballot is open for them to see it after you cast it. Then ponder this question: how safe would you feel voting against a union thug if he could see your vote?
That is the purpose of the secret ballot. Cesar Chavez, the famed California farm worker organizer, fought long and hard for secret ballots. Of course, then it was to keep the corporate farmers from knowing if a potential union member voted in favor of the union. But, regardless, the secret ballot cuts both ways because now it is the union, rather than the employer, that has more propensity to abuse the worker’s best interests.
But, California’s farm workers already have the secret ballot, right? Yes, they do. But SB180 sponsored by the United Farm Workers wanted the secret ballot eliminated. And it is for the simple reason that they wanted to be able to intimidate any worker that would vote against the union.
Well, thankfully Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed this abomination.
As the NAM has it:
Congratulations to the Governor for vetoing that last bill, which would have deprived farmworkers of their right to determine their association via secret ballot. Cesar Chavez fought long and hard for the secret ballot, but organized labor now finds it inconvenient.
Just so. A victory for union members and democracy has been won.
1 user commented in " Gov. Schwarzenegger Vetoes SB180 "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI just read this blog and let me tell you that the author ignores many of the facts that he is misrepresenting on the article. First of all, using the term “union thug” tells the reader that the person is making a judgement of some people that most probably he has never seen on his/her life.
Besides that, he never talks about the content of SB180. Had the author read the content of the law me might have noticed that the bill would not have replaced secret ballot. On the contrary, what it would do is give the farmworker a choice, between holding union elections at the employers site, or property and taking the ballot home and vote there. The bill basically would enable the farmworkers to vote from home, much like people will do in 2008. Instead og going to the polls, you vote at home and them mail in your ballot.
So, next time the person that wrote that sorry piece of writing should at least read what he is writting about and get the facts straight.
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