WASHINGTON, DC // APRIL 26, 2011 // The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) today issued the following statement in response to the release of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) letter declaring the agency’s intent to immediately sue Arizona and South Dakota over state constitutional provisions requiring secret ballots when employees decide whether or not to join a union. The two states, along with Utah and South Carolina, enacted the constitutional provisions as part of ballot measures last fall. In the letter, the Board states it is only moving forward with suits against Arizona and South Dakota at this time.

“It is astonishing that the Board has once again decided to promote card check – a key component of the widely unpopular and job-killing Employee Free Choice Act,” said Geoffrey Burr, chair of CDW. “This latest move against the voters and workers of Arizona and South Dakota is simply another example of the Board placing the interests of union bosses above those of employees, businesses and the American public.”

“If the government is going to pursue a policy of challenging laws based on federal preemption, it should do so consistently, not just when it promotes Big Labor’s agenda.”

“Unfortunately, it appears that the NLRB’s latest attack is only the tip of the iceberg,” Burr concluded, “as the Board has also threatened to sue both South Carolina and Utah. The NLRB attempt to rob workers of a right to secret ballots by overturning initiatives the voters of South Dakota and Arizona passed by secret ballot elections is sad and ironic.”

About the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, www.MyPrivateBallot.com
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is a coalition of workers, employers, associations and organizations who are fighting to protect the right to a federally supervised private ballot when workers are deciding whether or not to join a union.