(McKay Daniels/Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs) – The US Senate race here in Nevada is certainly heating up. TV ads are all over our screens already…and it’s only July. The candidates (and their surrogates) are slinging plenty of mud but are relatively short on substance. With so much at stake in this election, we need to focus on where Sharron Angle and Harry Reid stand on the issues, especially job creation.
That’s why we need to know how Sharron Angle would vote on the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act, a job-killing bill being considered by the US Senate. If this legislation becomes law, Nevadans can expect months – or years – of continued economic trouble…and yet Sharron Angle’s been silent.
It seems strange that Angle wouldn’t come out and say whether or not she opposes the Employee ‘Forced” Choice Act (EFCA). She has a track record of strong free-market, pro-business views, and there is nothing free-market, pro-business, (or pro-worker) about EFCA. It would seem a no-brainer for her to oppose it. Yet after months of opportunities she still has not given Nevada voters her opinion.
This legislation would force employees into unions they don’t desire by stripping them of their right to vote by secret ballot on whether to unionize. It would also give the federal government authority to impose labor contracts on businesses and workers. It’s the top legislative priority of labor union bosses and it’s being pushed strongly by their legislative allies.
Opposing this incredibly misguided legislation should be a slam-dunk for Angle. But when the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs sent her a questionnaire asking her position on forced unionization, she didn’t reply. To be fair, neither did Harry Reid. But his actions in the Senate and his past statements make it clear he’s been strong supporter of this forced unionization bill. For the sake of all Nevadans we had hoped he would change his opinion on this legislation just like many of his Senate colleagues have. That doesn’t appear to have happened and without his response Nevada workers and business owners know where Reid stands: he’s chosen Big Labor over them.
We don’t know where Sharron Angle stands, though. On her website she talks about the importance of “giving the business community the confidence they need to start creating jobs and hiring again.” That’s certainly true. One of the best ways she could do that, though, is to oppose EFCA.
Nothing undermines a business owner’s confidence more than the threat of unionization of his or her workforce. Since EFCA sets the stage for union organizers to coerce workers into unions, we can expect far more unionization drives throughout Nevada and the nation if this bill becomes law. What small business owner will want to hire new workers if he or she fears the business’s employees may be forced into a union? How does that “give the business community confidence” Ms. Angle?
Another aspect of EFCA is even worse for our business climate. Under one provision, if a union and a business owner cannot come to a quick agreement, a Department of Labor employee will settle the matter by imposing a contract he or she writes. There is nothing the business owner can do about this – the bureaucrat’s word is final. Would that inspire the business confidence Sharron Angle says we need?
Of course not. EFCA is a job killer. Studies have been done about EFCA’s likely effect and they conclude that its passage would lead to even more people out of work. With Nevada having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, EFCA would hurt us more than any other state.
Harry Reid has never wavered from his support of this legislation. The unions that have poured money into his campaign know this and want to see one of their strongest allies in the Senate re-elected. More new members forced into unions means more revenue for union bosses to spend on their lavish salaries, benefits, and campaign contributions. They can’t afford to see their gravy train come to an end and will do all they can to return Harry Reid to the Senate.
Sharron Angle should stay true to her free-market, pro-business roots and tell Nevadans that she opposes this massive giveaway to Big Labor. At the very least, she should clarify whatever her position is to Nevada voters, workers and businesses. It’s mystifying to me why she is hiding her opinions on legislation that would directly affect Nevada’s number one issue: the lack of jobs. Nevadans need to know her stance on this important issue. Nevadans are counting on her to do the right thing and that if she makes it to the Senate, she’ll stand with them and not with the union bosses.
Ms. Angle’s silence on this issue is certainly not “giving the business community the confidence they need”.
(The Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs is a coalition of businesses and employees committed to standing up against legislation and government actions that would put undue burdens on Nevada’s small businesses or their workers.)
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