Union Organizers Wasting No Time

Taking Flight? Emboldened by the election of Sen. Barack Obama as U.S. president, union organizers are already pushing for the elimination of secret-ballot elections in their quest to unionize more U.S. employees. During his campaign, Obama voiced support for the Employee Free Choice Act, which experts argue actually gives workers fewer choices. It would replace the secret ballot with the new card-check model that makes it far easier for unions to be formed. One day after Obama defeated Sen. John McCain for president, the American Federation of Government Employees announced a plan to recruit “tens of thousands” of employees at the federal Transportation Security Agency, according to an article in Airport Business magazine.

Rep. Nita Lowrey, a New York Democrat, introduced a bill last year to repeal the authority of the TSA administrator to hire, discipline, set compensation for and fire employees. The bill passed the House of Representatives last year but failed in the Senate. It is expected to be revived in the 2009 legislative session. Workers would be governed by a collective bargaining agreement. However, critics of the bill say that, if passed, it would cripple American companies’ ability to compete, restrict employees’ right to know, and render human resources professionals superfluous.