‘Card Check,’ immigration now hand-in-hand

By Jack Camper, President/CEO
Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

Two issues on the national agenda have now been married together, at least rhetorically, and they are a shot across the bow of Arizona’s labor force.

Four words summarize this union: Card Check. Immigration reform.

Recently, prominent lawmakers have spoken about both issues, virtually simultaneously and almost in the same sentence, it seemed. And when one thinks about each of these topics, it is understandable how they would be related.

They’re both about labor. They’re about the workers who occupy the jobs that move our economy. But when looking at our great state’s current labor rules, these two issues to which the Democratic leadership in Washington has hitched its wagon, go absolutely counter to our values.

How? Five words: Right to work. Employer sanctions.

Arizona is a Right to Work state, which means that individuals can work where they want and are not required to join a union in order to be or stay employed. (For example, a teacher is not required to join the Arizona Education Association in order to teach in our schools, and a hotel housekeeper is not required to join the Service Employees International Union in order to work in Arizona hotels.)

By contrast, “Card Check” (officially known as the Employee Free Choice Act) is legislation that will make union elections public, eliminating the secret ballot which workers have used to vote whether to have union representation. The concept goes along with the consistent decline in union membership nationally. A public election – where individual workers’ votes are known to workplace supervisors and union representatives – would put individual workers under scrutiny, if not intimidation. Interestingly, the American way of the secret ballot for union elections was instituted initially because of this intimidation by union bosses, and possible termination of workers who didn’t vote the “right” way.

Despite the overall premise of the bill, one particular provision that has not been discussed widely is perhaps more troubling than the bill itself. It is a provision requiring binding arbitration after 120 days if the new union and the business cannot agree on a collective bargaining agreement. The contract, which then would be in effect for two years, would be formed by a government panel of arbitrators, who may or may not understand the issues being discussed in the negotiations, and would likely mandate how the business is to be run during the contract period (including wages, benefits and use of employees). In the end, the employees would not have the opportunity to ratify the contract, which they would under normal collective bargaining. There is incentive for the union to delay negotiations as long as possible and make the government get involved in how the business will be run. Neither the business nor the employees at-large would have any say. We find this patently unfair to businesses, especially smaller businesses.

To base an employee’s job and/or safety on a union election runs counter to free enterprise as well as Arizona’s right-to-work status. Our state gives our workers the right to have and keep the job they want regardless of union membership. We will fight hard to keep that right in place in this state.

But should that right be extended to illegal immigrants? Being a border state, Arizona has had unique experiences facing immigration that many other states (save three) would have difficulty understanding. Many people have poured across our border, legally and illegally, to take advantage of the many fertile opportunities for success and prosperity our country offers. While many have found their way into other states, many have stayed here, working among us, occupying jobs that may leave more Arizonans and U.S. citizens out of work.

To restore integrity of the American worker, the state of Arizona passed the employer sanctions law, the toughest such legislation in the nation which punishes those businesses who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The idea behind the law is to curb illegal immigration – if the demand for these workers drops because of the sanctions, the supply will drop, meaning people here illegally will return to their home country or go to another state – and protect hard-working Arizonans and keep their job opportunities open.

There has been some serious rhetoric expressed in recent days calling for immigration reform. This was tried a few years ago with the McCain-Kennedy bill, which included a form of amnesty, allowing illegal workers to eventually get in line toward earning citizenship. The bill was eventually defeated after strong public opposition.

Yet a similar bill may come back, with some form of Chamber-backed guest-worker program, thus removing the fear of deportation, provided the individual obtains a worker’s permit. The problem then, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently commented, is that once the laws are reformed and immigrants are allowed to work in this country, they will be encouraged to join a union. That flies in the face of Arizona’s right-to-work status.

We must protect our citizens’ right to secret voting on union organization and protect our work force in the state. We ask you to write or call U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at (202) 225-2542 or Rep. Raul Grijalva at (202) 225-2435 and urge them to vote NO on the Employee Free Choice Act, or ask them why they won’t.