Rep. Joe Wilson on Card Check: Put It “Aside Altogether”
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 by adminMany are aware of the ongoing effort by Associated Builders and Contractors and Free Enterprise Alliance to educate our members, the general public, and legislators about the anti-democratic, job-killing nature of the misleadingly named Employee Free Choice Act. As part of that effort, we have asked some leading legislators their views on the bill.
Today’s interviewee is Rep. Joe Wilson, who represents South Carolina’s Second District.
1) What is the status of the Employee Free Choice Act and what is your position on the legislation?
I am opposed to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act because it all but eliminates an employee’s right to a secret ballot and would require the government to step in between an employer and their employees to impose binding arbitration. It would be a clear detriment to job creation and a roadblock to reform.
2) ABC members believe that there is no “compromise” on a bill that starts out so badly as to include “card check” and binding arbitration. What is your view of “compromise” on EFCA?
I believe this legislation is bad for employers and employees alike and should be put aside altogether.
3) Have you heard from your constituents on EFCA and the impact the bill would have on your district?
I have heard from individuals in the Second Congressional District who believe we need to protect the rights of our employees and that includes the right to a secret ballot. They understand how this legislation would damage job creation and hurt an economic recovery.
4) In your view, are there other, better legal or regulatory reforms that would be more helpful to working Americans and our economy?
The key to restoring our economy is helping businesses create new jobs. We can start by putting to rest attempts to raise taxes on small businesses whether through a big government health care plan or a cap and tax scheme both of which would destroy jobs. More specifically, I’ve been a longtime supporter of expanding bonus depreciation for businesses to encourage the purchase of new equipment and the growth in business that will create jobs.
5) If you could tell an ABC member one thing about your position on workforce laws and other laws governing the marketplace, what would you say?
We need to promote the free market and ensure that laws and reforms are targeted in support of a limited government involvement.
Tags: Jobs, Protecting Secret Ballots, Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina
September 24th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Phyllis turner Sparks-Kincaid says:We need you to stand up AGAINST socialism in our country!
September 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
donna Esposito says:Good Job Joe,
Thank you for yelling: “you lie!” Thank you for minimizing the government and exercising the secret ballot!!! Grow small and big buisness alike. We are America!! We want to work not suck on Govts hind tit!
September 24th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Marlene Soward says:I am against card check because I believe without secret ballot employees could be imtimidated by others.
September 24th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
MotherRedDog says:I have written and called my representatives. I know where the republicans stand in GA, but not sure about the dems. Even Warren Buffet thinks that the secret ballot is essential. EVEN McGovern…..that should tell the lefties to let it go. This is unAmerican.
September 24th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Mirac777 says:I,m against card check and the political push behind it.Seiu, AFL-CIO,UAW, many unions in bed with current admin., which last time I checked was , or used to be illegal? We need real job creation, and we need it now, not the jobs +”created or saved” as in 25,000 GOV JOBS just announced! You dont repair the economy by making more government jobs, period! Unless you are a liberal with a socialist agenda , anyway.
September 24th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
marilyn montgomery says:Card Check is an anti- american tactic resembling communism. One this administration would surley love to adopt.
September 24th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Leslie says:I agree….I commend u for standing up (like many others should do) and letting Obama know the truth….God Bless America
September 24th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Kevin Hulit says:I oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. My current employer informed me and my co-workers months ago of the dangers this sort of thing brings. “Choice,” as we know it, may very well evaporate entirely if this bill becomes law. It strips away the rights of the individual to decide whether or not to unionize. The possibility that non-union employees could vote to unionize, and if 50% plus one vote in favor, I very well could wind up in a union against my wishes.
Where is the choice in that?
And, to all of you union folks out there, imagine your contract disputes being settled by Uncle Sam if not resolved on your own in 120 days!
Way to to go, government… I can’t believe this one is creeping around capital hill!
September 24th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Rich says:Denying we the people the RIGHT to vote on ballot and keep personal views to one’s self is WRONG. It’s time for Americans to stand up and be heard and seen! Thank you, Joe Wilson for taking a stand for America and not worrying about what is politically correct.
September 24th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
KurTheInfidel says:Card check = Socialism
the need to keep workers in line reminds of something that would happen in Europe in the 1930s, not America at ANY time.
Your District is in South Carolina, but when you stood up during the speech and said what you did you were speaking for all of us.
Keep fighting the good fight Congressman Wilson. you have my full support.
September 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Nathan Watkins says:Where does it say that the secret ballot will be eliminated? The bill lets the employees choose a secret ballot or majority sign up. This makes it easier for employees to unionize. Why would someone be against that?
September 24th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Jeanne Wickline says:The video is clearly states an issue that’s designed to “confound, confuse and make us senseless.” My husband is a former chief union steward (retired) who refused to tout the party line and he likes the video, too. Well done!
September 24th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Nancy says:I agree with you. Thank you for taking a stand for the people. Please continue to call them as you see/hear them.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Dallas says:I’m in the Hon. Lynn Westmoreland’s district but I’m pleased to see that SC is well represented too.
For your words at the President’s joint session of Congress: may you be represented in future editions of “Great Quotations by American Patriots”.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Dillon Corbett says:If Joe Wilson honestly believes what he is saying, he needs to read up on the topic. The legislation does not want to do away with secret ballots completely. It only allows for majority sign-up. Most companies have policies in place to protect their workers rights to form unions… however, for those who do not, the secret ballots can still be used. Shame on you, Joe Wilson for being a fear-monger to these people… Perhaps you should read up on what you’re saying and check for validity. This is not a step towards socialized government(which is a whole other ball game). It’s silly to have compared apples to oranges.I’m sick of the misinformed public being exploited and taken advantage of by people like Joe Wilson. Joe, Please continue to stand up for what you believe in, but do not take the route of a fear-mongering propagandist. Your Hopeful Constituent, Matthew D. Corbett
September 25th, 2009 at 1:27 am
Belen says:Joe, thank you very much for working so hard on our behalf. This admin will not stop until they can pass all their socialist agenda… God help us.
September 25th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Duane says:Way to go Joe, you got a good head on your shoulders and you even seem to understand that you work for us.
September 25th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Bob Von Scio says:Joe Wilson is such an unmitigated embarrassment to this country. The world knows who you are solely because you are a loud mouth, redneck, [expletive deleted by editor]. I started following you on twitter after your outburst during the address to the joint session of congress. Since then, I have been privy to your daily [expletive deleted by editor] to the fringe of the remnants of a great political institution, the GOP. Joe Wilson, it is precisely because of people like you that I have moved from Republican, to Independent, to Democrat in the course of the past 9 years. I am sure the accolades are deafening from where you sit. Afterall, the people in the country who applaud people like you DO number in the millions. Luckily, though, those millions are only a relatively small percentage of the total population. So, while you bask in the afterglow of your retarded circle jerk with all your 912ers, birthers, deathers, and teabaggers, the rest of us in the “reasonable majority” will continue to win elections that matter and make policy that continues to make you and people of like mind willfully and voluntarily evacuate themselves to the furthest reaches of the lunatic fringe.
September 25th, 2009 at 8:16 am
AJ Tyne says:I agree. There was a time in this country when unions were needed and were a good thing. THAT TIME HAS PASSED. I’m against anything that would give unions any more power than they already have (but shouldn’t have) now. The secret ballot is CRUCIAL in all voting circumstances and the thought of disallowing it is beyond unAmerican!
September 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Nancy II says:Thank you for your continued fight against big government. As one of the reasonable majority in this country, I am hoping that other members of congress will also eliminate card check.
September 25th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
v chuck says:Joe, I’m behind you on this one. You wouldn’t beleive the number of people that support you here in Nevada…. You called a spade a spade when you yelled out ‘you lie’. Can we get you to move here so we can elect you as a senator to replace Harry Reid? I’d even help you move…..
September 25th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
v chuck says:Bob Von Scio: after reading your comment, I thought: you must be out of your ever loving mind. To say such things when Joe was simply saying what was on a large number of “redneck” peoples minds is simply uncalled for and childish. and for your info: I’m not a redneck.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Alexandria says:You are supported here in Pennsylvania because we know….they lie !!! Feigned outrage can be spotted a mile away. San Fran Nan and Sir Harry are not the two people to be outraged by this sort of thing. Their treatment of President Bush is “conveniently” forgotten.
September 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Eva Brown says:JOE WILSON MY HERO!!!!!
Bob Von Scio: After reading your comments I have to say you are an unmitigated Idiot as well as an embarrassment!
You prefer to support a party that has clearly put transparancy and accountability to death when they refuse make public the Baucus bill full to text to the public, the sentate, and even the CBO so that it can be scored to determine the true cost NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE PUT A GAG ORDER ON INS. CO THAT ARE ATTEMPTING TO NOTIFY THEIR SUBSCRIBERS ABOUT THE CUTS TO MEDICARE AND MEDICARE ADVANTAGE THAT OBAMACARE WILL BRING AND DEFEND THAT ORDER BY SAYING THEY ARE SPREADING MISINFORMATON WHEN IN FACT THE CBO HAS CONFIRMED WHAT THEY WERE SAYS IS IN FACT TRUE? AND YET THEY ALLOW THE LIES AND MISINFORMATION OF SUPPORTING INS. CO. LIKE AARP TO CONTINUE! WHAT HAPPENED TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
Boy I am sure you are really proud your great deomcratic party over this on. Yeas this is something you can be proud of!
You prefer to support a Party that refuses to make the full text of the Baucus Bill public and even try to force Senators to vote for this bill without having seen a copy of the full text of the bill. To ensure that the Senate would actually know what they were voting on, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) offered an amendment that would have required that actual legislative text, as well as a final Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the cost of the bill, be posted for 72 hours on the Senate Finance Committee website for public review before the Senate Finance Committee could vote on its final passage. The Bunning amendment was defeated on a largely party-line vote, with all Senate Democrats – with the exception of Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AK)- voting against it. And you would switch to this? Since proponents of Obamacare ( the democrates you hold so highly) have shown themselves to be completely indifferent to what their legislation will actually do to the American people, conservatives have offered other amendments that would hold President Obama accountable for his promise that Obamacare would not cause Americans to lose their current doctor or health care coverage:
•Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) offered an amendment that would have required the Secretary of HHS to certify that at least 75 percent of the physicians in the United States would accept Medicaid patients before the proposed mandatory Medicaid expansions are implemented. That amendment was defeated.
•Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment that would have required the Secretary of HHS to certify Obamacare would not cause more than 1,000,000 Americans to lose the current coverage of their choice. That amendment failed on a party line vote.
•Another Hatch amendment provided that if the Medicare funding reductions in the Medicare Advantage program were to result in a loss of benefits for seniors using Medicare Advantage, those provisions would be nullified. That amendment was also rejected.
The majority in the Senate has completely gutted any semblance of transparency or accountability in the health care debate. They refuse to provide the legislative language and time necessary for the CBO to analyze their legislation and they have rejected all measures that would protect the Americans people from Obama’s broken health care promises. Common sense dictates that Congress needs to step back and start over instead of passing a plan that would reorganize one-sixth of our entire economy without even understanding what the consequences to average Americans would be.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Ken says:Joe
Cardcheck is undeniably about enabling union goons visiting to get your card signed or smash your kneecaps. It’s a reprehensible idea and appaling we have among us the kind of thugs that could propose this. If we can’t lock up the people pushing this, at least please put their proposal in the idea morgue.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:26 am
JACK says:JOE WILSON
TRUTH CZAR!
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Rick says:Nathan – you obviously need to re-read the Bill. It clearly states that where a “representative” can provide cards showing a majority of employees have signed valid cards then “the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative” – in other words there WILL BE NO SECRET BALLOT ELECTION!