Save Our Secret Ballot

Do away with secret ballots for union votes? Enter Save Our Secret Ballot:

Ernest Istook, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma, is the SOS National Advisory Board chairman. He says the issue of secret ballots is not just a freedom issue, but a civil rights issue as well.

"It's sad that in a time when Americans have fought for the right for people to elect their own leadership by a secret ballot in places such as Iraq, we have the U.S. Congress trying to undercut that right -- at least when it comes to members of unions," says the former lawmaker.

Istook says without secret ballots Americans would lose freedom from intimidation, freedom of choice, and freedom of conscience.

The Employee Free Choice Act passed the U.S. House in 2007 but died in the Senate under a Republican filibuster. Unions are hopeful it will win passage in 2009 with the support of president-elect Barack Obama and a stronger Democratic majority.

This is an issue Del. Chris Saxman has taken a stand on for the upcoming 2009 General Assembly session, saying that doing away with the secret ballot is a mistake.