McConnell right on 'Free Choice'

President Bush should keep his promise to veto the HR 800, curiously named the “Employee Free Choice Act.”
Sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., it passed two weeks ago in the House and now goes to the Senate. The legislation is wrongheaded, and is potentially unfair to workers.
Workers now can vote for or against a union can via a secret ballot under the oversight of the National Labor Relations Board. HR 800 takes away the secret ballot. Instead, it lets workers simply sign union authorization cards, or “card check.”
The American worker ought to maintain the right to have labor representation, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Card check is not the way. It opens up a host of issues, but most prominently it could lead to coercion or intimidation of workers, who may feel pressured into decisions. That's not the atmosphere you want on the job.
When the bill passed, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell wisely noted, “We will not allow the progress already made on behalf of U.S. workers to be undone, nor will we allow coercion by employers or unions. … “Let’s continue our efforts to safeguard the rights of America’s workforce and stop this attempt to strip away workers’ rights.”
If the bill makes it to Bush’s desk, a veto is in order.
For the record: Ohio lawmakers Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt, Mike Turner and John Boehner voted against the legislation. In Kentucky Geoff Davis, also voted against the legislation. Of the 24 Kentucky and Ohio representatives who voted, 14 rejected the measure.