MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – The state’s Majority Authorization bill, expanding public-sector workers’ rights to collective bargaining and employment protections, was signed into law today by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
The AFL-CIO’s 50th annual constitutional convention was the venue for the signing ceremony, at which the governor was joined by Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; Suzanne M. Bump, the state secretary of labor and work force development; and legislators including the measure’s lead sponsors, Sen. Robert O’Leary and House Ways and Means Chairman Robert A. DeLeo.
“This bill is about leveling the playing field between labor and management,” Patrick said. “It affirms the Commonwealth’s policy of supporting workers who should be able to bargain collectively for fair wages, decent health care and on-the-job protections.”
Haynes lauded the action, saying: “Before the ink dries on the governor’s signature, working people’s chances for a better life in Massachusetts will already be improved.”
The new law will enable public-sector employees to become unionized through a written “card-check” option, as well as by secret-ballot elections. It is based on the national Employee Free Choice Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, which recently failed to gain Senate approval.
“I sponsored this bill because I believe public employees who want to organize should be allowed to do so without impediment,” DeLeo said. “With this signed in to law, we create an efficient and fair way they can make their will a reality.”
“At a time when the purchasing power of the paychecks of most working men and women is decreasing, it is important that we allow people to exercise their rights to join unions,” O’Leary added. “By giving individuals the ability to join a union confidentially, without the fear of repercussions, this legislation enables working Americans to more freely assert their legal rights.”
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This is one of the most misleading headlines I have ever seen. In signing this bill, Gov. Deval L. Patrick didn’t just “expand workers’ rights”, he took away one of the most fundamental rights of workers enjoy today — the right to participate in a secret, private-ballot election. Employees will now be forced to indicate their choice of whether to join a union by signing a card in front of their co-workers, employers, and union organizers, opening the door to coercion and intimidation.
This “card check” system was tried more than 40 years ago, and was determined a failure. Gov. Patrick signed this bill as a payoff to union bosses, who have seen their membership sink to all-time low of 12%.
Massachusetts voters should be outraged. Instead of taking away workers? rights, Gov. Patrick should have considered how he was elected to office, by the private-ballot election process.