A press release from the office of U.S. Rep. John Kline:

WASHINGTON--U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., was joined by Senate and House colleagues last week to introduce the Secret Ballot Protection Act, legislation that ensures workers retain the right to a secret ballot election when choosing whether to form a union.

“The right to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental principle of American Democracy,” said the congressman, who the senior Republican on the education and labor subcommittee on health, employment, labor, and pensions. “If unions and employers are sincere in their missions of protecting and serving workers, the real question should be how all sides can work together to defend workers’ interests – and protect the rights of millions of Americans whose privacy and freedom are at stake. The Secret Ballot Protection Act is the first step in the right direction.”

The Secret Ballot Protection Act, introduced by Congressman Kline and fellow committee members Tom Price (Georgia) and Howard “Buck” McKeon (California), would guarantee workers the right to a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) and prohibit unions from coercing employees through the “card check” system, which is notorious for coercion and intimidation.

Congressman Kline’s legislation would ensure common-sense protection by:

- preserving the sanctity of employee free choice and the right to a secret-ballot election;

- Protecting workers from intimidation, threats, misinformation, or coercion by a union or co-workers to “sign the card;”

- and eliminating a union’s ability to pressure an employer to agree to card-check recognition.

“Few rights are more fundamental to our American democracy than the right to a secret ballot election,” said Republican Leader John Boehner. “I thank Reps. Kline, McKeon, and Price for introducing this legislation to safeguard that right for American workers. House Republicans will continue to fight attempts by powerful special interests to end the critical right to privacy in the workplace.”

In his fourth term in Congress, Congressman Kline is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Armed Services Committee.