Cliff Stearns: “today we vote on a bill that quite frankly hurts American workers. The derisively named ``Employee Free Choice Act''…”

“today we vote on a bill that quite frankly hurts American workers. The derisively named ``Employee Free Choice Act'' removes employees' choice in choosing to organize by having them reveal their vote on an authorization card, under the watching eyes of union officials; not on a secret ballot. This is wrong, not only in the workplace, but in any scenario where peer pressure can exert itself. In government elections, secret ballots are the foundation of democracy worldwide. We send election observers to developing nations to see that, among other elements, their ballots are cast in private. The Fraternal Order of Police labor union wrote to our Speaker on Tuesday against this bill, saying: ``This ill-named legislation attacks the very meaning of free choice. Without federally supervised private ballot elections, our democratic process would be extremely susceptible to corruption, and the very foundation of our Republic could be undermined. This bill would do the same thing to our Nation's workers by robbing them of their privacy, power and voice in deciding who should represent and defend their rights as employees.'' Employees who just want to go about their business and peacefully do their jobs without fear of reprisal from either their employers or union bosses deserve the same secret ballot with which all of us were elected.”