Too Many Secrets: Your Right to a Secret Ballot is Under AttackToo Many Secrets: Your Right to a Secret Ballot is Under Attack

Op-ed by House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Vice President Joe Biden's recent visit to Miami Beach to meet with union leaders wasn't such a secret. But as the labor bosses wined and dined at the posh Fontainebleau Hotel, with its 10 pools and 40,000 square foot spa, what they weren't letting anyone know is that they were plotting to steal your guaranteed right to a secret ballot. And now they are only one vote away in the U.S. Senate from doing it.

That's right. These labor union bosses are on the verge of passing legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and denying employees the right to cast their ballot in private in union organizing elections. Rather than holding a monitored workplace election using secret ballots as has been the case for decades, under this proposal the union would automatically be created in businesses with more than ten employees once the union collects "authorization cards" signed by a majority of the employees. No questions. No debate. No secret ballot. You're unionized.

The right to vote in private, free from coercion or intimidation, is one of the pillars of our nation's democracy and it is so fundamental that it transcends partisanship. Even long-time labor supporters such as George McGovern and Rev. Al Sharpton have voiced their opposition to this undemocratic measure. They agree that workers deserve the right to hear all sides of the issues, the right to question relevant people, and the right to decide individually after an open and honest process.

And while efforts to oppose EFCA in Washington continue, I am now taking action as part of a national effort underway in ten other states to Save Our Secret Ballot so that in Florida we can protect and preserve the fundamental right to a secret ballot and democratic workplace elections.

State Senator Garrett Richter and I are sponsoring joint resolutions- HJR 1013/SJR 1908- which, with voter approval, would amend Florida's constitution "to protect and preserve the fundamental right of individuals to vote by a secret ballot" in all elections required by federal, state or local law. Most would assume that voting by a secret ballot is already a constitutionally guaranteed right, but it is not.

Save our Secret Ballot is not an anti-union proposal. It is a pro-worker protection proposal. Intimidation and harassment is wrong whether it is coming from a union boss or a management boss. With a secret ballot, Florida's workers are the boss.
It’s no secret that our state and our nation are currently facing unprecedented economic challenges. Protecting worker's rights is essential if we want to create and protect jobs and get our economy moving again.

Recently, the Democrats in the Florida House of Representatives elected their party leader using a secret ballot process. If choosing their workplace leader by secret ballot is good enough for Democratic politicians in Tallahassee, then guaranteeing the right to secret ballot elections should be the right thing to do for the workers of our state.

Electing those who represent us at work is just as important as electing those who represent us in government. Voters cast their votes free from fear of retribution from their government, and they deserve the same right to be free of fear of retaliation from their union, their employer and their fellow employees.

Because if we don't stand up to protect the right to a secret ballot today, what rights will we be fighting to hold onto tomorrow?