Denying GOP Committee A Secret Ballot Is Hypocrisy

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), commonly known as “Card Check,” is the misnamed legislation promoted by Organized Labor to stop the hemorrhaging within union ranks.  (From a high near 40 percent after World War II, union representation in the private sector has plummeted to just 7 percent today). It would make organizing a union infinitely easier by eliminating the current secret ballot vote used to determine whether employees wish to unionize.

Common sense tells us that whenever a secret ballot is not employed, many people will not vote their conscience.  Instead, they fall victim to intimidation and arm-twisting, and end up casting a ballot in favor of the person whom they are strongly encouraged ---AKA “told” --- to support.  The result is a rigged, Banana Republic election, anything but “Free Choice.”

The Republican Party, on both the state and national level, has vigorously opposed Card Check, not only because it is grossly unfair to companies, but much more important, because it would cavalierly discard that most fundamental American bedrock value: free and fair elections.  It is a right that has been held sacred in this nation, and has allowed the people to chart their own course and make their own decisions, free of outside influence and intimidation.

Given this, it seems extremely hypocritical that the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania --- while opposing Card Check --- jettisons free and fair voting for its own members by refusing to allow secret ballot votes on important issues, such as Party endorsements.

And now, on the eve of the meeting in which the Committee will vote whether to endorse a candidate for the U.S. Senate (or not endorse at all), that issue has become a firestorm that is only growing in intensity.

The big question centers on whether the Party will endorse millionaire Steve Welch, a favorite among several GOP leaders, including Republican Governor Tom Corbett. The problem many have with Welch is that he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary and supported former Congressman Joe Sestak, a stalwart liberal consistently to the Left of Obama. Welch claims he left the GOP out of frustration that it wasn’t conservative enough, leaving more than a few Republicans perplexed.

(In an email to PoliticsPA this week, Sestak wrote of his meeting with Welch: “He expressed support of me and what I stood for. He seemed nice and, separately, supportive of the Democratic Party and its efforts.”)

So would the Party really risk massive damage to itself by endorsing an Obama-voter, and make the sin mortal by doing so without a secret ballot?

They can’t be that dumb.

But this being Pennsylvania’s Republican Party, all bets are off.

Should they endorse Welch, it will be a double whammy, throwing the entire Party into a quagmire from which it would be difficult to escape.

State Committee would cement the perception that its endorsements are behind-the-scenes deals by inside powerbrokers hell-bent on executing individual agendas --- the rank-and-file Party faithful be damned.  More damaging, it would play out --- in full public view --- exactly how ruthlessly efficient Card Check tactics are, making unions blush with envy.

How could Party leaders possibly explain with a straight face that the process was fair, and that no political pressure and intimidation took place --- when Governor Corbett and certain State Committee leaders were openly pushing Welch?  Would it really be plausible to believe that the message “do it for the Party, and do it for your Governor --- or else your political career stops here” wouldn’t be made loud and clear?

Even more telling, how could the Party explain Committee members’ change of heart in endorsing Welch after only one of five State Committee regional caucus straw polls voted for Welch as their candidate of choice? In other words, of the five regional “pre-election” votes that took place --- voted on by the very same people who are now being asked to change their vote and endorse Welch --- only one made Welch a winner. Significantly, Welch’s own Southeast Caucus refused to hold a straw poll, and Corbett was not even able to deliver his hometown Southwest Caucus for Welch.

This is by no means an indictment of Steve Welch. It has nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the Republican Party. Clearly, in this particular situation, the wisest course of action would be to ignore the Governor’s misguided endorsement and refuse to endorse any candidate. 

In allowing grassroots Republicans across Pennsylvania to make their choice, free of Party endorsements, a civil war inside the GOP would be averted, and the best candidate --- the people’s choice --- would emerge to take on incumbent Bob Casey.  And if Welch wins a non-endorsement primary, his victory would not be tainted with the perception that he “bought” his way to the nomination.  Regardless of the outcome, no one can argue with the results if rank-and-file Republican voters make that decision.

Besides gaining immense credibility with many Republicans should it not endorse a candidate, State Committee could score a huge coup by then amending its bylaws to allow for that which is uniquely American: secret ballot elections.

Otherwise, it will become known as Republican State Committee, Local 666.

An accredited member of the media, Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In their heyday, unions represented 36% of the American workforce.  

How things have changed.

Now, that number stands at only 12 percent, and when you factor out the public-sector unions, the number plummets to a paltry 7 percent.

While unions were formed for good reasons ---to combat deplorable working conditions and slave labor wages --- shortsighted union leaders have made a habit of biting the hand that feeds them.  Ironically, the biggest casualty to organized labor’s greed are the rank-and-file members, as evidenced by the numbers above.

It is precisely for this reason that union leaders are the driving force behind card check legislation, which would eliminate the secret ballot in union elections.  While admitting to themselves that this is an inherently un-American tactic, labor leaders see card check as the only viable way to preserve the union movement.

Funny, but something else much more simplistic comes to mind that would achieve the same objective --- without violating a member’s right to secretly cast a vote.

Common sense.

But for that, there is one prerequisite: you have to live in this world.

Not upper Uranus.

So for a classic case study of how space cadets operate, let’s take a look at the ongoing legalized extortion occurring in the Neshaminy School District.

The teachers union in that Bucks County district has been at odds with the school board for months.  Why?

Because they want a “fair” contract.

Pretty much everyone else on this planet calls it greed.  Unadulterated greed.

What are they asking from the taxpayers?  Salary increases, retroactive to 2008, of 2.75 percent in each of the first two years, 3 percent in the third and fourth years, and 3.5 percent in the final year. 

So a teacher making $100,000 a year now will be taking home a guaranteed $116,000 salary for nine months’ work in 2013.  What a deal! 

And there are quite a few teachers at or near that level: 64 make over $100,000, and over half make over $90,000, not including health care benefits.

But hey, times are tough, so the union leadership has another demand, one from which it won’t budge: continued free health care.

That’s right.  Neshaminy teachers do not pay a single penny towards their health care premiums.

Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.

How’s that for living in the real world?

Instead, the forgotten taxpayer foots the bill for their high-end plan, to the tune of around $27,000 per teacher, per year.

And it doesn’t stop there. 

The taxpayers’ largesse also extends to Neshaminy’s retired teachers, many with lucrative pensions (some over $100,000 per year) who also enjoy free healthcare.

But in the private sector ---that forgotten place which employs the people who pay for all the teachers’ salaries and benefits --- pay raises in today’s economy are the exception, and employees typically shoulder at least 30 percent of their healthcare costs.

Not content with the negotiations, however, the teachers showed their “class” by repeatedly boycotting Back to School Nights.  In addition, their classrooms aren’t decorated, bulletin boards remain vacant, recommendation letters are on hold --- and reports have stated that the contract dispute has been discussed in the classrooms, which is the very last place it belongs.

But hey, the union’s demands have nothing to do with greed, we are nauseatingly told. No, no…. it’s all about the children!

Sure it is.

And pigs can fly. 

*****

Speaking of the airborne Neshaminy union leaders, let’s discuss the real issue. You know, the one that everyone ---parents, teachers and union officials --- pretend isn’t there.

Our educational product is failing.

All across Pennsylvania, and yes, in Neshaminy, too.

The beauty of math is that numbers don’t lie.  And Neshaminy’s numbers are dismal.

Only 67 percent of the district’s 11^th graders are proficient in Reading.  In Math, it’s 72 percent.

So let’s tell it like it is: one-third of Neshaminy’s students can’t read proficiently and almost the same number can’t add or subtract.

And the real number is even higher, since students who have already dropped out of school --- a significant number --- aren’t counted. 

Yet the taxpayers are pumping out $17,000 per student, per year. And the results?

Pure mediocrity. 

Getting a 67 on a test is an F.  In the real world, being content with a 67% success rate is unacceptable.

*****

Several weeks ago, Governor Rendell celebrated the news that 82 percent of our schools met basic benchmark levels.

And that’s reason to celebrate?  Maybe for Venezuela, but not the United States of America.

Since when did we aspire to be average? To be simply… mediocre?

Worst of all, to actually be happy with that?  That’s not how we put a man on the moon, nor was it how we became the most powerful and prosperous nation in the world.

Shame on the Governor for setting such a poor example, which should come as no surprise. 

He’s always been in bed with the teachers’ unions. 

We lead the nation in school strikes almost every year, are near the top in teacher salary and benefits, but are perpetually close to the bottom in literacy, graduation rates, SAT scores, and students going on to college.

What Rendell and the unions’ leadership haven’t yet realized is that we’re no longer competing against Bubba Cletus who at 19 is getting out of 7^th grade.  We’re not even competing against San Francisco and Seattle anymore, but Sydney and Singapore.

Compared to their counterparts in the world’s 30 richest countries, American students are, at best, right in the middle, but more often than not, closer to the bottom.

Average was never good enough, but in an ever-increasing global economy where today’s best students are tomorrow’s world leaders, America is dangerously close to getting blown off the field.

Responsibility for improving education rests with everyone: parents, students and teachers. And make no mistake.  There are thousands of dedicated teachers who go the extra mile, making lifelong impressions on our children --- our future --- in a way few others can. There is no way you can ever put a price tag on truly good teachers and adequately compensate them for the service they perform. 

And the good ones understand this.  They went into the profession for far more than money.

Unfortunately, these treasures are represented by a union whose actions run contrary to the true mission of the teaching profession. And whether the voices of the good ones are drowned out by the masses, or intimidation rules the day, the end result is disastrous --- like Neshaminy.

So cheers to the Neshaminy School Board for not relenting to selfish union leaders who care nothing about the students, and all about grabbing as many tax-payer dollars as possible.

But a few sobering words of caution are in order:

FACT: Throwing more money at the problem has never worked, and never will. 

FACT:  Higher teacher salaries do not translate into better results.

FACT: Until true accountability is realized --- through school choice--- the downward trend will only continue, accelerating America’s decline.

Bottom line: unless we make the effort to fix the real problems, we might as well start learning to speak Chinese.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX 29.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The race for Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District GOP nomination has been a wild roller coaster ride over the last year.

Four-term incumbent Jim Gerlach told the world --- repeatedly --- that he would NOT seek re-election, opting instead to jump into the gubernatorial fray. After that effort failed, however, Gerlach re-entered the congressional race in January, but at that time faced three opponents.

Despite the two strongest candidates dropping out of the contest, Gerlach still faces Pat Sellers, a conservative candidate and longtime political activist.

So where does the race stand?