secret ballot for employees

Republican Senators Join Fight To Protect Workers’ Rights (from www.scsenategop.com)
January 22nd, 2009
Senator Ryberg: “An individual’s vote must be sacred and should not have to subject him to intimidation and harassment.”
Columbia, SC – January 22, 2009 – During a time when unions have forced the Big Three near bankruptcy and American taxpayers are bailing them out, Congressional Democrats are pushing a plan to grow unionization across the nation. Last week South Carolina Representative Eric Bedingfield filed a plan to protect South Carolina’s workers from union intimidation and today South Carolina’s Republican Senators joined the fight.
Deceptively named the “Employee Free Choice Act,” the liberal plan has been more appropriately dubbed the “Secret Ballot Elimination Act” by US Senator Jim DeMint. The legislation would strip workers of their right to vote for unionization by secret ballot, opening them up to what State Senator Greg Ryberg calls “intimidation and harassment” by unions.
“Whether it is to elect a president or vote one’s preference on union organizing, the sanctity of the ballot box is critical,” Senator Ryberg said. “An individual’s vote must be sacred and should not have to subject him to intimidation and harassment.” Ryberg is chairman of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee in the State Senate.
SC Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler and Majority Whip Danny Verdin are the primary sponsors of the Senate bill.
“We’ve seen what happens when unions control the economy. It’s called Detroit. And we’ve seen what happens when unions fail. Congress bails them out on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. South Carolina must continue to be a right-to-work state and we must protect our workers’ rights during this tough economic crisis,” Peeler said.
The legislation will be filed on Tuesday and protects workers’ rights through an amendment to the SC Constitution stating, “To preserve and protect the fundamental right of individuals to vote by secret ballot, where local, state, or federal law requires elections for public office or ballot measures, or requires designations or authorizations for employee representation, the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot is guaranteed.”
Senate Sponsors include:
Majority Leader Harvey Peeler
Majority Whip Danny Verdin
President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell
Senator Greg Ryberg
Senator Larry Martin
Senator Paul Campbell
Senator Wes Hayes
Senator Lee Bright
Senator Larry Grooms
Senator Mike Rose
Senator Mike Fair
Senator Ronnie Cromer
Senator Kevin Bryant
Senator Shane Martin