In late September, the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations heard from employees that were subjected to union coercion as part of a campaign to get them to sign union authorization cards.  The employees spoke at a hearing related to H.R. 4343, the Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2004, which, if enacted, would prohibit employers from recognizing unions on the basis of a card check agreement.  Such agreements require employers to recognize and bargain with the union if the union produces authorization cards signed by a majority of employees in a bargaining unit.  Thus, employees are deprived of the ability “to vote their conscience” in a secret ballot union representation election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

Given many unions’ increased pressure on employers to use card check agreements, the Secret Ballot Protection Act is a timely and important piece of labor legislation.  Nevada employers are encouraged to take a position on this bill and communicate it to their congressional representatives.