With the collapse of union membership around the country to only about 7.2 percent of all private-sector workers, union-backed Democrats repeatedly claim that “interference by management” is the main reason why workplaces keep voting to reject unionization.
That has led Democrats to promote obviously unjust legislation, such as a bill that would deny workers a secret-ballot vote on whether to unionize – and allow Big Labor activists to look on when employees vote to approve or reject a union. That bill, which would encourage intimidation by unions, fortunately has gotten nowhere in Congress – so far.
But the Obama administration, beholden to Big Labor for campaign contributions, is now forcing companies to practically invite employees to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board plans to force companies to start displaying posters that are more or less “how-to manuals” on forming a union. The companies might even have to send e-mail to workers to remind them that they may form a union.
The rule would apply not only to companies that have illegally denied employees the right to organize unions but to “most private employers” across the board, The Associated Press reported. That includes companies that have strictly adhered to federal law where unionization is concerned.
Previously, the National Labor Relations Board has focused on labor disputes at particular companies, so this broad new rule to be imposed on almost all companies is an aggressive expansion of the agency’s role – again, to please the president’s Big Labor supporters.
Workers are entitled to a fair, non-coercive atmosphere in which to decide whether they will unionize.
Neither denying secret ballots on unionization votes nor forcing law-abiding companies to advertise on behalf of unions helps to promote that goal.
Employees are rejecting unions because they have seen costly, unsustainable union wage-and-benefits packages bankrupt some large companies. Unions will have a far better chance of success in the workplace when their demands are more reasonable and when they stop promoting unfair schemes to boost membership.