Union secret ballot is best for all

To the editor:Our paper reprinted an Associated Press story about House Democrats passing a bill making it easier for workers to unionize. The law would allow union membership just by signing cards and eliminating secret-ballot voting. What a strange presentation of the facts.

Many companies would rather not be unionized for issues that can be debated elsewhere. In fact, most companies are not union as membership continues to decline below the 12 percent level.

The story suggests the law was necessary to advance worker's desires against companies' wishes. By eliminating democratic secret-ballot elections? If a majority of workers want to be unionized, they are more than protected by labor laws to do just that.

The story quotes a lawmaker saying the House vote was about establishing fairness in the workplace. What's more fair than a democratic secret-ballot election closely monitored by the National Labor Relations Board? No company pressure. No union boss pressure. Make up your mind. Close the curtain behind you. Mark your ballot and drop it into a locked box to be counted later.

A labor group says labor law has been twisted by corporations and their union-busting hired guns. In what century? People choose to be represented by a union because they believe it's worth the price. People choose to be union-free because they believe it's not worth the price.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao issued a statement saying it was a sad day when the House "votes to deprive workers of their basic right to private ballot elections." Indeed.

RANDY DUNN, Oak Ridge