Washington, DC (July 16, 2004) – Representatives of management, unions, employees, and Members of Congress filed a flurry of formal arguments on yesterday’s deadline in the National Right to Work Foundation’s lead case before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that will determine to what extent employees may enjoy the protections of a secret ballot election when deciding whether to form a union.

Filing one of many briefs on the employees’ side, an unprecedented coalition of three former members of the NLRB (John Raudabaugh, J. Robert Brame, and Dennis Devaney) argued for 21 Members of Congress that employees should have a right to a secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB to “test” a union’s claims of majority support after an abusive “card check” organizing drive.

In a statement released today, Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA), a signatory to the congressional brief and lead sponsor of legislation to reduce “card check” organizing abuses, said “Hard-working folks deserve the right to a fair and secret balanced election — not the threats, arm-twisting, and shakedown tactics that come with card check campaigns.”

In contrast, the Big Three (and Delphi) argued that they should be entitled to cut deals and bargain without employee interference after a union is recognized pursuant to a so-called “neutrality” or “card check” agreement – even when a clear majority of employees opposing unionization immediately petition thereafter for a secret ballot decertification election.

Many other amicus curiae briefs, filed both for and against the disenfranchised employees, poured in from across America as the Board debates the enforceability of increasingly common arrangements intended to limit employees’ freedom to determine their union status. According to the AFL-CIO, more than 80 percent of newly organized employees each year are now unionized through this “card check” process.

“Increasingly unable to sell workers on union membership, union officials have resorted to coercive tactics such as ‘neutrality’ agreements and the in-your-face ‘card check’ solicitation process to intimidate workers into supporting a union,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The Big Three should be ashamed of themselves for selling their hard-working employees into forced unionism in return for concessions from United Auto Workers (UAW) officials.”

The NLRB solicited briefs from the legal community after granting review last month by a 3-2 vote in consolidated cases filed by Foundation attorneys for employees at Dana Corporation and Metaldyne that challenge the so-called “voluntary recognition bar rule” which prevents free employee elections. Under pressure from the Big Three – as well as a union “corporate campaign” – the automotive suppliers cut deals with the UAW to waive the secret ballot election process and to assist union organizers in pressuring employees to sign union authorization cards. The coercively obtained cards were then counted as “votes” in favor of unionization.

These pacts typically require that the employer hand over employees’ private information (including home addresses) to union organizers, subject employees to unsolicited “home visits,” and permit wide access to company facilities resulting in employee complaints of harassment. After Dana and Metaldyne granted recognition to the UAW union, large groups of employees immediately filed petitions – signed by 35 percent and more than 50 percent, respectively – opposing unionization and calling for a formal decertification election.

In a related development, the U.S. Senate today held hearings on the subject of “card check” organizing.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.