Letter of Support for the Employee Rights Act, H.R. 3485

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Representative today and urge him or her to support H.R. 3485, the “Employee Rights Act.” Introduced by Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), this bill would enable American workers to freely exercise their rights in the workplace by maintaining the right to a secret ballot, allowing workers to see their paychecks used as they intend, and making union membership the free choice of an individual employee rather than a mandate.

Both public and private sector unions have long forgotten their responsibility to protect the rights of workers and instead have focused on using their resources to gain political power and make friends with lawmakers and crony-capitalists in government. The rights of the individual are under attack when workers are forced to join and pay dues to a union whose political agenda runs contrary to their own conscience. It is high time to restore the liberty of workers and protect them from the abusive power of big-labor’s political machine.

This bill would amend Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require a majority of all union members, rather than a simple majority of those who cast ballots, to unionize. Such votes will be done by secret ballot, protecting workers from coercion. Additionally, unionized workplaces will be directed to hold periodic secret ballot referendums to determine if employees wish to remain with their current union. Every American should be interested in preserving the right of freedom of association.

Rep. Price’s Bill also amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to give union members the option to opt-out of union dues if they are used for anything other than collective bargaining. Union members will no longer be forced to support political causes with their dues against their conscience. The bill also strengthens laws against worker intimidation by unions and secures the right of union workers to have a majority vote by secret ballot to decide whether to declare a strike.

The right to freely associate, and thus to unionize, is an essential liberty within a free market. But for too long, unions have turned their members’ mandatory dues to securing the power of government coercion to force entire industries – employers and employees alike – to bend to their will. This legislation is necessary to preserve the liberty of every American worker: to ensure that their earnings are not forcibly taken from them and used to support political campaigns and candidates they disagree with, to provide that workers enjoy the freedom to associate or disassociate with labor unions as they please, to protect workers from violent intimidation and threats, and to protect workers from losing their jobs when a union declares a strike without a majority of worker support.

I urge you to contact your representative today and urge him or her to support H.R. 3485, the “Employee Rights Act,” to protect the rights of millions of American workers from the abusive power of out-of-control unions.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe

President and CEO,

FreedomWorks