• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Feds threaten to sue states over union laws

Renae

Banned
Suspended
DP Veteran
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
50,241
Reaction score
19,243
Location
San Antonio Texas
Gender
Female
Political Leaning
Conservative
By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press – Fri Jan 14, 4:58 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.
The agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, said the amendments conflict with federal law, which gives employers the option of recognizing a union if a majority of workers sign cards that support unionizing.
The amendments, approved Nov. 2, have taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and will do so soon in Arizona and South Carolina.
Business and anti-union groups sought the amendments, arguing that such secrecy is necessary to protect workers against union intimidation. They are concerned that Congress might enact legislation requiring employers to allow the "card check" process for forming unions instead of secret ballot elections.
In letters to the attorney general of each state, Solomon says the amendments are pre-empted by the supremacy clause of the Constitution because they conflict with employee rights laid out in the National Labor Relations Act. That clause says that when state and federal laws are at odds, federal law prevails.
Solomon is asking the attorneys general in South Dakota and Utah for official statements agreeing that their amendments are unconstitutional "to conserve state and federal resources."
In his letter to South Carolina's attorney general, Solomon asks the state to take measures that would prevent the Legislature from ratifying the amendment. Solomon requested that Arizona's governor decline to make the amendment official.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes the state is on solid ground. He plans to coordinate a response with the other three states.

Feds threaten to sue states over union laws - Yahoo! News

Fight back guys, fight the Feds. It is the rights of the workers at stake here.
 
Goodness gracious... and liberals claim to support the rights of workers... it is clear that they support UNIONS not workers...

Also, what happened to States rights here? Are they going to assert the interstate commerce clause on this? That is a stretch...
 
I support the secret ballot. Without it, union elections are subject to coercion just like a non-secret ballot in a political election. Any concentration of power breeds corruption be a government, corporation or union and proper measures should be taken to mitigate the damage.
 
Feds threaten to sue states over union laws - Yahoo! News

Fight back guys, fight the Feds. It is the rights of the workers at stake here.

We shouldn’t over react here.


It’s not like the feds allow dead people and their pets to register to vote. Secrete ballots are clumsy and subject to employer intimidation. If an employee fears for his life because a couple union thugs have him backed into a corner with a clipboard shoved into his face, he can tell them to kiss it where the sun don’t shine and nothing will happen to him.


The feds will make sure every cartoon character, personal pet and dead person who voted isn’t disenfranchised but those evil employers who have the audacity to expect a certain level of production in return for a certain level of pay, they will probably spike the koolaid and rig the vote right under the NLRB’s noses and people will either find themselves to be payed slaves or unpaid civil rights fighters holding a cardboard sign and a tin cup at an intersection near you.


Please turn union votes into a federal election that resembles voter registration.
 
We shouldn’t over react here.


It’s not like the feds allow dead people and their pets to register to vote. Secrete ballots are clumsy and subject to employer intimidation. If an employee fears for his life because a couple union thugs have him backed into a corner with a clipboard shoved into his face, he can tell them to kiss it where the sun don’t shine and nothing will happen to him.


The feds will make sure every cartoon character, personal pet and dead person who voted isn’t disenfranchised but those evil employers who have the audacity to expect a certain level of production in return for a certain level of pay, they will probably spike the koolaid and rig the vote right under the NLRB’s noses and people will either find themselves to be payed slaves or unpaid civil rights fighters holding a cardboard sign and a tin cup at an intersection near you.


Please turn union votes into a federal election that resembles voter registration.


You're a card check guy aren't you?
 
The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue....

I stopped reading right there, I'm automaticaly on the other guy's side, I don't care if he's an admitted axe murderer.
 
I support the rights of workers but oppose all Unions as they are corrupt and work only to garner more members for dues and as in California are choking the State budget. Further more the teachers Union is a big part of the reason California has gone from number one in education to number forty nine. The children come in second to the teachers.

California is not alone in this either the Federal Government suffers from it too.

Unions were great when workers weren't being protected by strong Federal law but today they are.

Unions such as SEIU, the Teamsters, I.A.M. & AFLCIO are all the same and are run by people who are questionable character.

Right now so many Unions back the Socialist/Marxist Obama it's not funny worth a damn.
 
I support the rights of workers but oppose all Unions as they are corrupt and work only to garner more members for dues and as in California are choking the State budget. Further more the teachers Union is a big part of the reason California has gone from number one in education to number forty nine. The children come in second to the teachers.

California is not alone in this either the Federal Government suffers from it too.

Unions were great when workers weren't being protected by strong Federal law but today they are.

Unions such as SEIU, the Teamsters, I.A.M. & AFLCIO are all the same and are run by people who are questionable character.

Right now so many Unions back the Socialist/Marxist Obama it's not funny worth a damn.

you are confused
if you actually supported the rights of workers you would support their legal right to organize
so, tell the truth and admit you are opposed to workers' rights
 
only in obama's white house

LOL!

this ivy league elitist from harvard law is so outta touch with american values and traditions he assails IN COURT, on behalf of his seiu sycophants, our american as apple pie right to vote via SECRET BALLOT

of course, this is the same tone deaf holier-than-thou who SUED the people of arizona for attempting to do HIS job for him, even tho the people of america expressed overwhelming support for ab1070 in poll after poll and at the precincts

this white house has tried to use the courts to BAN DRILLING

the doj has argued in circuit AGAINST don't ask don't tell and gay marriage, even, in the later case, comparing homosexual unions to incest and having sex with 16 year olds

they're on the radically wrong side of america on the mosque at ground zero, on moving ksm to manhattan, on taxing ENERGY---both production and consumption---in the midst of our economic malaise

and now, the SECRET BALLOT, legislated sacrosanct in south carolina, south dakota, utah and, of course, arizona

why, it's practically UNAMERICAN

what's next, is he gonna disparage america's BIBLES and second amendment right to GUN OWNERSHIP?
 
Last edited:
Yeah! You have union card or not?

I live in Texas, we are a Right to Work state, Unions aren't big here. Thankfully.

Card Check would be a disaster, and thankfully, Obama and Co. were unable to pass it.
 
you are confused
if you actually supported the rights of workers you would support their legal right to organize
so, tell the truth and admit you are opposed to workers' rights

And having a secret ballot prevents this how?
 
And having a secret ballot prevents this how?
ok, here is the post to which i responded
I support the rights of workers but oppose all Unions as they are corrupt and work only to garner more members for dues and as in California are choking the State budget. Further more the teachers Union is a big part of the reason California has gone from number one in education to number forty nine. The children come in second to the teachers.

California is not alone in this either the Federal Government suffers from it too.

Unions were great when workers weren't being protected by strong Federal law but today they are.

Unions such as SEIU, the Teamsters, I.A.M. & AFLCIO are all the same and are run by people who are questionable character.

Right now so many Unions back the Socialist/Marxist Obama it's not funny worth a damn.
please point out his mention of the secret ballot in the above expression of anti-union animus
 
Maybe there's some historical or sociological subtlety I'm missing here, but it seems to me that if secret ballots are good enough for our elections (and they are, if we're careful to check voter registrations and use a method that leaves a paper trail), they should be good enough for permitting a body of workers to decide as a body whether or not to unionize.
 
Last edited:
Maybe there's some historical or sociological subtlety I'm missing here, but it seems to me that if secret ballots are good enough for our elections (and they are, if we're careful to check voter registrations and use a method that leaves a paper trail), they should be good enough for permitting a body of workers to decide as a body whether or not to unionize.

do the math
if 50% plus one of the employees sign a form requesting unionization at their workplace, that renders the need for a formal election unnecessary
 
do the math
if 50% plus one of the employees sign a form requesting unionization at their workplace, that renders the need for a formal election unnecessary

And it also allows the Union thugs to know who wouldn't sign the paper.

Workers Rights only count for some if they follow orders.
 
do the math
if 50% plus one of the employees sign a form requesting unionization at their workplace, that renders the need for a formal election unnecessary

Why would you need to sign your name to anything?

Why not just verify that you have a right to vote on the issue and then stick a slip of paper in a box?
 
Why would you need to sign your name to anything?

Why not just verify that you have a right to vote on the issue and then stick a slip of paper in a box?

there MUST be a showing of not less than 30% of the employees before a union election can be held
however, where 50% plus one seek the ability to conduct an election then there is no need to proceed further because the majority have already declared their support of a union at the workplace
 
and once the union is up, who's gonna run the local, what issues are we gonna stand up for, will or won't we walk out...
 
reading many of the posts here about the big bad unions is like listening to a group of eunuchs talk about the joys of sex.
 
reading many of the posts here about the big bad unions is like listening to a group of eunuchs talk about the joys of sex.

Unions; Bankrupting corporations and liberal states for 70 years.
 
Maybe there's some historical or sociological subtlety I'm missing here, but it seems to me that if secret ballots are good enough for our elections (and they are, if we're careful to check voter registrations and use a method that leaves a paper trail), they should be good enough for permitting a body of workers to decide as a body whether or not to unionize.

Well, just to play devil's advocate...

One problem with the secret ballot is the possibility of tainted elections, or ballot stuffing. So in actuality a group of workers could want to unionize and have voted for it, but the votes for it don't get counted, and so unionization doesn't happen even if more workers favor it.

That's why there's a pro to card check - how people vote can be verified to prevent illegal voting procedures.
 
Well, just to play devil's advocate...

One problem with the secret ballot is the possibility of tainted elections, or ballot stuffing. So in actuality a group of workers could want to unionize and have voted for it, but the votes for it don't get counted, and so unionization doesn't happen even if more workers favor it.

That's why there's a pro to card check - how people vote can be verified to prevent illegal voting procedures.

Card check can also lead to voter intimidation though
 
Back
Top Bottom