McGovern joins business groups’ push to defeat labor-backed ‘card check’ bill

Former Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.) has emerged as an unlikely ally of business groups looking to defeat legislation that would allow unions to bypass secret-ballot elections.

McGovern, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 1972, features prominently in a new ad paid for by an opponent of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. McGovern repeated his objections to the measure, commonly known as “card check” legislation, in an interview with The Hill.

{mosads}The bill passed the House in March 2007 but fell short of the 60 votes needed to move controversial legislation along in the Senate. It is at the top of organized labor’s priority list, and the outcome of this fall’s elections could determine if Democrats have enough votes in the Senate to break the logjam.

McGovern called secret-ballot elections a “basic right.”

“I believe in the secret ballot as a very important part of our democracy,” McGovern said. “When we elect a president, sheriff or member of Congress, we walk into the voting booth and pull the curtain free of anyone trying to twist our arm.”

He added that he is a longtime advocate of organized labor. “I think my voting record in the Senate is flawless on that issue. But it is in the interest of labor and management to have a secret ballot.”

The ad is sponsored by the Employee Freedom Action Committee, and, according to organization spokesman Tim Miller, is part of a campaign to defeat Democrats in key Senate elections.

“Our focus is the Senate,” Miller said. “The Senate is going to determine whether the Democrats are going to succeed in pushing this undemocratic legislation.”

Under a provision of the bill that seeks to amend the National Labor Relations Act, an employer would not be able to demand a secret-ballot election if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards.

Opponents say union organizers could use intimidation techniques to force workers into signing the petition.

Labor groups say businesses employ similar strategies with workers once an election is scheduled, and that the legislation doesn’t do away with elections but simply gives workers the choice of holding them.

“It is deeply, deeply disappointing that someone like Sen. McGovern, who got so much support from labor unions, has sided … against labor’s top priority,” AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stuart Acuff said. “It’s shocking.”

{mospagebreak}McGovern said that he became involved in the campaign when Rick Berman, executive director of the Employee Freedom Action Committee, brought the issue to his attention. The two have known each other for a number of years.

“But I wasn’t doing it to please him,” McGovern said. “I’m doing it because I believe it’s an important right that should be protected.”

{mosads}In the ad, McGovern says, “It’s hard to believe that any politician would agree to a law denying millions of employees the right to a private vote. I have always been a champion of labor unions. But I fear that today’s union leaders are turning their backs on democratic workplace elections.”

The ad will first air nationally on Fox during Tuesday’s presidential debate, and then in the coming weeks in seven states with close Senate elections.

When asked if he had any reservations about appearing in an ad that seeks to defeat Democrats, McGovern said, “I don’t want to unseat Democrats. I’m a lifetime Democrat. But I don’t think supporting this is the right course.”

McGovern became a liberal icon with his outspoken criticism of the Vietnam War.

According to Acuff, the AFL-CIO is spending $53 million campaigning for this election. He said the American Rights at Work, another labor group, is spending $5 million on an ad specifically in support of the bill.

When asked if the AFL-CIO would still support the bill even without the core provision regarding secret-ballot elections, Acuff said, “We’re campaigning hard to get a 60-seat, pro-worker, Democratic, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. There’s no reason to think that we would have to make that decision.”