I was a dues paying member of the UAW and the IBEW. I know about union intimidation from personal experience.

My first real job was in the upholstery shop at Wayne Bus Company in Indiana, (then a Right to Work state). The UAW union steward in my shop actually threatened me, saying that if I didn’t join the Union, he would get me fired. Of course I joined. The company later closed down after the union refused to compromise on labor costs.

On a later job, working as a machinist at AVCO Corp, a missile parts manufacturing plant in Indiana, the IBEW union steward continually harassed me for working to fast. He said I was "killing" the piecework rate.

My last job was a sales associate at (non-union) Home Depot in California. At that time a union organizing effort was being made, and again pro-union employees were very aggressive. They pushed hard to find out which employees were against unions. The store managers however remained fairly neutral, simply explaining how things would change if a union were put in. The union was overwhelmingly rejected.

It astonishes me that anyone, especially an elected politician whose career depends on the secret ballot, would ever consider removing this crucial element from the democratic process.

Believe me, I know, the secret ballot is very necessary for fair union organizing.