Loudoun County Chamber Joins National, State Coalitions to Fight Legislation That Would End Secret Ballot Union Votes

Loudoun Chamber asks businesses to join fight against “Card Check" bill that would kill jobs, force binding arbitration on businesses to accept union contracts

Loudoun County, VA – The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce announced today it has joined the nationwide effort by U.S. business leaders to defeat a Congressional plan that would effectively eliminate the American worker’s right to a secret ballot election to form a union.

The Loudoun County Chamber has joined forces with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of Virginia business groups, under the banner of Virginians for Workplace Fairness, to defeat the grossly misnamed "Employee Free Choice Act".

Introduced in Congress last month, this job-destroying legislation would allow union organizers to deny workers the right to secret ballot union elections, through a “card check” process that would leave workers vulnerable to coercion. The bill also imposes binding arbitration that allows government bureaucrats to dictate wages, benefits and workplace rules on American businesses.

“In one single legislative package, the Congressional sponsors of the “Card Check” proposal are attempting to eliminate the rights of America’s workers and business owners alike. While union leaders in Washington are salivating over the prospects of a “Card Check” bill, American jobs, businesses and our economy will suffer the consequences of this destructive proposal,” said Loudoun County Chamber President Tony Howard.

The Loudoun Chamber is urging its members to join these business coalitions against the Card Check bill and to contact their U.S. Senators and Congressman and tell them to oppose this legislation.

“One independent study shows that the Card Check bill would effectively eliminate more than 600,000 jobs within the first year after passage. Worse still would be the devastating effect it will have on the hard working entrepreneurs and small business owners – those who this nation is counting on to pull us out of a recession – whose companies would be subject to the rule of union bosses and federal bureaucrats in Washington,” Howard said.

To join the U.S. Chamber’s “Virtual March on Washington to Save the Secret Ballot,” visit http://secretballot.voteforbusiness.net/. Loudoun Chamber members can also join the Virginia-based Virginians for Workplace Fairness by visiting http://www.virginiaworkplace.com/.