Fight over unionizing rules heats up

WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- An interest group opposed to labor unions ripped the United Auto Workers' head Tuesday for pushing a controversial form of union organizing.

The pro-business Center for Union Facts said a recent call by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act was a stab at workers' rights.

The bill would require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. If passed it would make obsolete the conventional secret ballots run by the National Labor Relations Board.

The bill "supports a back-door organizing method called 'card check' designed to circumvent traditional secret ballot elections," said the center's Richard Berman.

The bill was introduced by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and has 215 House co-sponsors and 43 Senate co-sponsors.

Opponents to the bill are supporting an alternative, the "Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2005," introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., which would prohibit employers from recognizing a union based on card check instead of an election. Their bill has five co-sponsors in the Senate and 91 in the House.