The Service Employees International Union, Local 49, in Oregon, has run afoul of the National Labor Relations Board over its misuse of card checks. According to The Oregonian newspaper,
the Union ran a dishonest and coercive card check organizing campaign
.
The Union had apparently used a card check campaign to organize thirty-two janitors at Somers Building Maintenance in Portland. One of the workers, however, complained to the NLRB that the Union had used outdated cards and coerced employees into supporting its campaign for unionization. Apparently, a majority of workers originally signed cards to support unionization, but then a significant number of them changed their minds, leaving the union without its necessary majority.
The worker’s complaint resulted in the Union reaching a settlement with the NLRB that prohibits the union from using any card check campaigns for six months
This is an example of why card checks should not be used to replace secret-ballot elections conducted by the NLRB. Secret-ballot elections, after all, are a staple of our democracy and should not be done away with just so unions can coerce workers into supporting them.
