Workplace freedom missing on July Fourth

On the Fourth of July, Americans will celebrate our country's birthday with beachside barbecues and firework fiestas. Independence Day commemorates our freedom from a tyrannical monarchy thousands of miles away.

But, more than 240 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a different tyranny besieges our democracy. In union America, employees are often left without a voice, ruled by the same union leadership for decades with little opportunity to remove or replace it.

Less than 10 percent of union members ever voted for the union currently "representing" them. Labor unions represent eight million workers under the National Labor Relations Act. Only 478,000 of them - 6 percent - voted for union representation at some point in their careers. These same employees are not guaranteed the right to a secret-ballot union election. Under current labor law, union officials can bypass a private vote by pressuring employees into signing authorization cards to unionize a workplace.

What can be done? The democratization of union America begins with labor reform. The House Education and Workforce Committee recently held a hearing on the Employee Rights Act, the most comprehensive update to American labor law since the 1940s.

Supported by 170 House and Senate members last session, the act would democratize the workplace by guaranteeing secret-ballot votes and scheduled recertification elections. Without impeding collective bargaining, the bill would reinforce employees' right to join or leave a union without fear of intimidation.

National and regional polls show that 80 percent of union household voters support the act's key provisions. As the 2016 election showed, working Americans are crying for change. Congress should answer their cries and reform American labor law.

Freedom from tyranny is impossible without freedom in the workplace.

Luka Ladan, Center for Union Facts

Washington, D.C.