Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Editorial: No threat to Virginia's union rules
Leave the state constitution out of the fight over labor organizing procedures.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Congress appears ready to strip workers of their right to secret ballots before forming unions. There are principled reasons to oppose the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, and then there is the strategy chosen by Virginia Del. Chris Saxman.
The Staunton Republican claims the act threatens Virginia's right-to-work law. He therefore has prefiled legislation for the upcoming General Assembly session that would elevate the law into the state constitution where, presumably, it would be safe from federal meddling.
Despite Saxman's anti-union fears, the only thing Virginia's law and the proposed federal act share in common is that they have to do with unions.
For those unfamiliar with the nuances of labor law, some explanations are in order.
Virginia, like about 20 other states, has a right-to-work law. It says companies and unions may not compel workers to join a union or to pay dues to one. Workers can still unionize, but participation is always optional.
What majority Democrats in Congress and President-elect Obama propose has nothing to do with that.
Under current law, when half of workers sign unionization cards, the company may demand a vote by secret ballot. The proposed law would eliminate that vote, reducing the question of unionization to just checking signatures on the cards.
That would open workers to coercion from union bosses, coworkers and management. Those who have not yet backed the union could face daily pressure to get with the program. Secret ballots allow them to vote their conscience without fear of reprisal.
Contrary to what Saxman thinks, card-check only deals with the process of forming the union. It says nothing about who must join after a union forms. Virginia's right-to-work law needs no additional protection.
We suspect Saxman knows better, but conflating the two issues serves his political ends. It is a shame he chooses to abuse the Virginia constitution in the process.
By linking card-check to right-to-work, he creates confusion while needlessly tying the hands of future legislators in dealing with right-to-work issues.
We hope his colleagues will see through this gambit and reject Saxman's unneeded constitutional amendment. Virginia's right-to-work law does fine as a statute.
