Posts Tagged ‘Mail-in Ballots’
Card Check: Why “Mail-In Ballots” May Not Be The Best Reform
Ah, it all gets so confusing. First, some politicians said there was enough momentum to pass the anti-democratic Employee Free Choice Act as “payback” for union support during the last elections. Then the secret-ballot-stripping “card check” provision of the bill was called “toxic” and sent EFCA proponents in search of fancy euphemisms (like “majority signup”).
But as rumors of card check’s possible demise have heated up, so have rumors of potential “alternatives” such as ambush elections and mail-in ballots. Ambush elections are unfair to both employers and employees, and evidence out of Missouri this week suggests mail-in ballots may not be a perfect way to protect employees, either.
The Associated Press reports that a Missouri judge has temporarily “blocked the certification of a union election for in-home care providers” after the company alleged flaws in the elections process:
A hearing is set for Aug. 4 on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against certifying the election.
[Judge] Beetem’s order was brought to the attention of The Associated Press on Thursday by an attorney for Integra Healthcare Inc., which filed the lawsuit claiming the election lacked safeguards to ensure the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and wrongly excluded some eligible voters.
Mail-in ballots may be slightly better than card check, but they’re not necessarily as good as the current system. Remember that there have been strong and recent allegations that leading card check proponent SEIU has abused the mail-in ballot process in a fight to prevent many unsatisfied members from departing for a rival union (“Homecare providers reported scores of incidents of voter intimidation, illegal threats, and ballot manipulation by SEIU staff,” according to a press release).
It appears there are many problems with the mail-in ballot notion, as employees are sure to learn the hard way if Congress tries to pass reckless “reform”.
