In our view, constitution a pawn in workforce battle
A newly formed group — Save Our Secret Ballot — is campaigning to declare secret ballots for union membership votes a constitutional right.
To that end, SOS Ballot offers a succinct, 47-word amendment that doesn’t mince words. It simply declares that Missourians should have the right to a secret ballot in governmental matters or any vote that authorizes employee representation.
The proposal is posted in opposition to the federal Employer Free Choice Act, which would allow for a workforce to unionize if a majority signs up.
There are many questions we want answered before we give any sort of endorsement of this issue.
We’re not entirely convinced that Missouri’s constitution needs to be altered to reflect that secret ballots are a right. The wording of the proposal leaves out many details, such as how a secret-ballot election should be conducted.
In general, we favor ballot anonymity. But we also favor the right of a business to manage its own workforce in accordance with state laws.
We also don’t appreciate Missouri’s constitution being used as a pawn in the battle between employers and labor unions —especially when the Employer Free Choice Act doesn’t appear to specifically prohibit secret-ballot elections.
The matter is really all about the fear of pressure: Labor unions fear businesses will pressure employees to avoid unionizing; businesses fear unions will harass employees into joining.
It’s clear that supporters and opponents both have a lot of explaining to do in the upcoming months — especially if the secret-ballot amendment makes it on the ballot.