Clearing up myths about Free Choice

I'm not surprised that some people feel that it would be wrong for the Employee Free Choice Act to be enacted into law; there is so much misinformation out there. If people really thought about it, would it make sense in a democratic nation that both the President and the House would want to eliminate the workers' right to vote by secret ballot?

The Employee Free Choice Act does not call for the elimination of the secret ballot, but instead workers would be free to choose whether or not they want union representation by either the card check method (a majority of the workers sign a union card) or by the current secret ballot method, an entirely appropriate name. Employees can also choose to not have union representation if 50 percent plus 1 sign a petition, the same amount required by card check.

Intimidation is a terrible thing, but who's guilty of using intimidation? The union organizer who's there only during the organizing campaign, or the company who controls the employees' wages, hours, working conditions, vacation time, etc.? It is because of the thousands of cases of employer intimidation the National Labor Relations Board receives during the voting process that this bill was introduced.

I respectfully disagree that additional unionization is not the answer to our problems. With the fallout resulting from Wall Street's greed, workers need to band together and negotiate for better pay, health care benefits and job security. We need to rebuild an economy that works for everyone, not just the few.

Jo Ann Coli

Vernon Hills