This article just shows the corruption of “organized labor” which has no valid reason to even exist according to the Constitution and American tradition. Why would corrupt union officers and the government object to a secret ballot except to control those forced into unions, in many cases.
The other point to remember is that this was an amendment to the Constitution of Arizona voted on by the people by referendum. California voted on Proposition 8 to make marriage be between a man and a woman, as God intended. There were lawsuits over that. What happened to all of this great Demonocracy?
It is the union that called for heavier fines in the Obama health care debacle knowing that they (and the members of Congress, their staffs and families) are exempt from it.
The thing I don’t understand is why regular citizens in Arizona do not protest the fact that their ballot is not secret. Ask your County Clerk. They will brag about how they can find out how you voted for up to six months.
Arizona voters approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2010 to expand protection for a worker’s right to vote by secret ballot if asked to join a union. On May 6, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board sued the State of Arizona in federal court to prevent enforcement of the constitutional amendment, claiming federal law pre-empts any protection to workers that the state might offer. The Goldwater Institute has joined the State in opposing the lawsuit on behalf of individual workers to protect the Save Our Secret Ballot amendment and safeguard an individual’s right to decide whether or not to join a labor organization.
What happened to bring about this challenge?
Since 1935, federal law has protected the ability of many American workers to join a labor union. Union organizers can gauge the interest of a particular group of employees by asking that they sign union registration cards. However, federal law also protects the right to request a formal election by secret ballot so neither union organizers nor business owners can coercion or intimidation to sway a worker’s decision.
In 2006, the Employee Free Choice Act or “card check” bill was first introduced in Congress. This proposed law would remove the right to a secret-ballot vote. The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 while under control of congressional Democrats. President Barack Obama promised to sign the bill into law while he campaigned for the White House in 2008.
While the bill has yet to receive final congressional approval, the National Labor Relations Board announced in 2010 that it would consider revoking the right to secret-ballot elections as an administrative act.
Employees and business groups became alarmed by this threat to a fundamental right of American workers. They sought to establish independent protection for secret-ballot elections. The Goldwater Institute drafted model legislation, called Save Our Secret Ballot, which draws upon the sovereign authority for each of the 50 states to extend additional rights and freedoms to citizens beyond what might already be protected at the federal level.
In November 2010, voters in four states – Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah – overwhelmingly approved versions of Save Our Secret Ballot as an amendment to their state constitutions. In Arizona, the constitutional amendment approved by Proposition 113 says: “The right to vote by secret ballot for employee representation is fundamental and shall be guaranteed where local, state or federal law permits or requires elections, designations or authorizations for employee representation.”
Two months later, the National Labor Relations Board urged the attorneys general in all four states to not enforce Save Our Secret Ballot, claiming the constitutional amendment conflicts with existing federal law and therefore is pre-empted under the federal Constitution. The attorneys general informed the National Labor Relations Board they would uphold the voters’ intent.
In April 2011, the National Labor Relations Board announced it would file lawsuits against Arizona and South Dakota. The Arizona lawsuit formally filed in May 2011 claims the federal agency has sole authority to decide what avenues are available for workers to determine if they will join a labor union.
While the Arizona Attorney General’s Office represents the State, the Goldwater Institute represents individual working Arizonans who would lose a constitutional right if the NLRB succeeds.
Read more at the Goldwater Institute
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