Orwellian Irony

It's more than a little ironic that former GOP Sen. John Loudon invokes George Orwell in a dishonest opinion piece printed in last week's St. Louis Business Journal (via JohnCombest.com).

Let’s save our secret ballot in Missouri

Most of us assume voting by secret ballot in America is a constitutional right, a God-given right. Surprisingly, it isn’t guaranteed either in our federal or state constitution.

And right now, Missourians’ right to a secret ballot is in jeopardy as the U.S. Senate is within a vote or two from passing an Orwellian-named bill called EFCA – the Employee Free Choice Act. This bill would do away with secret ballot elections where employees decide who will represent them. Instead, unions could be formed in companies with as few as 10 employees through what’s known as “card check.” 

Loudon even wonders if passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would allow business owners to "really own" their companies.

Of course, the Employee Free Choice Act doesn't "do away with secret ballot elections" at all (thought it would shift some of the the power away from CEOs and corporations to workers), but acknowledging this simple truth might undermine their whole anti-worker campaign.

The editors at The St. Louis Business Journal n't seem to mind Loudon's inaccurate characterization of the legislation -- because they're doing it themselves in a separate "news" story about Peter Kinder's anti-worker stance on EFCA.

The U.S. Senate is within a vote or two from passing the Employee Free Choice Act, which would abolish secret ballot elections in which employees decide who will represent them. Instead, unions could be formed if 50 percent of employees sign a card, making unionization instant.

It's simply not true that EFCA would "abolish secret ballot elections," but that doesn't seem to bother its opponents. In reality, the Employee Free Choice Act (HR1409, S560) is supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, and would help level the playing field for workers and employers. 

I guess it doesn't poll well to say, "We like the current system where CEOs and corporate boards hold all the power to intimidate workers who'd like a union."