GOPers Return to Misguided 'SOS' Measure

Rep. Mike Cierpiot (R-Lee's Summit) introduced a constitutional amendment yesterday (HJR6) that he and co-sponsors say would guarantee "the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot." The resolution is really about limiting workers' rights to ask an employer to recognize a union after showing that a majority of workers demonstrate that they want to form a union.  

This is bad news for workers and their families -- and would also conflict with federal law.  Four other states have recently enacted similar measures, but the National Labor Relations Board informed those states' Attorneys General today that federal law pre-empts the state amendments.  From an NRLB press release:

The National Labor Relations Board today advised the Attorneys General of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah that recently-approved state constitutional amendments governing the method by which employees choose union representation conflict with federal labor law and therefore are preempted by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. 

The states were also advised that the Board has authorized the Acting General Counsel to file lawsuits in federal court, if necessary, to enjoin them from enforcing the laws. 

Under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, private-sector employees have two ways to choose a union: They may vote in a secret-ballot election conducted by the NLRB, or they may persuade an employer to voluntarily recognize a union after showing majority support by signed authorization cards or other means.

The state amendments prohibit the second method and therefore interfere with the exercise of a  well-established federally-protected right. For that reason, they are preempted by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Further details are available on this page, including a fact sheet prepared by the NLRB and copies of the advisory letters.

The amendments have already taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and are expected to become effective soon in Arizona and South Carolina.