Youth Communist League
This is the first post by the Montana Young Communist League Club. This blog is setup by me, Moe. I am the Montana YCL club’s public relation’s type idiot. This blog is intended as a way for us to write about club happenings, our opinion on Party issues and as a way to become more visible in the world wide internets.
This is less of a political post and more of personal insight of my experience with the Party and my life. I try to be open about my association with the Party and my family knows that I am one and my classmates assume I am one with my choice in reading materials and also my posting of YCL posters at the campus. It’s hard to get my family and friends to take me seriously as a Party member. They assume it’s just a bunch of kids getting together to bitch about the government and socialize. Granted, we do bitch about the government, but we’re trying to get involved with changing things. It’s harder than I thought it would be. I think that with me and Jesse being in school makes getting things done a little hard now and again. Not to mention we’re all broke but at least one of us was able to attend a Party event recently. Things would also be easier if we all didn’t live in Montana. We are unfortunately not that type of red state.
I believe in what the Party stands for even though I some of my views don’t fall quite within Party lines. For instance, I thought Obama was a dweeb. But considering McCain wasn’t much better I figured that I would respectfully not vote for either of them. I figure I can abide by Party thought even if I don’t quite agree with some of it. Why? The fact is that the Communist Party and the YCL hold a majority of views that I believe in. I may not be a blind follower but I think that this Party has the best plan for improving living situations in our nation.
Sometimes I get bogged down with all the negativity towards the Party as well. My classmates are always ready with info on how life under the Communists was so horrible. For the most part I’m willing to listen because I would prefer to make my own choices. But sometimes I wish I were either still in the commie closet, so to speak, or a blind follower convinced of my cause’s superiority. It’s hard to take the middle road of admitting that yes, other regimes were horrible, while trying to assert that the CPUSA is not the same. Most of the time my words fall on deaf ears.
But here I am, still a Party member after my first year and happily subscribed to every Party update and publication. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to do some good.
With an apparently pro-labor President set to enter the White House, and stronger Democratic majorities in both houses of congress, it looks as though an important piece of pro-labor legislation — the Employee Free Choice Act — stands a good chance at being signed into law. The EFCA would make it easier for workers to organize, increase penalties on employers who practice illegal anti-union policies, and make it easier for workers to file suit against those employers.
It should come as no surprise, however, that Big Business has been spreading lies about the EFCA and what it would mean. The biggest myth that they’ve concocted is that if the act becomes law, employees will lose their right to a secret ballot when they vote for or against unionizing their shop. This is an oversimplification meant to obscure the truth for those who are unable or unwilling to look deeper into the matter for themselves. Here’s how the Employee Free Choice Act would affect the organization process regarding ballots:
The “card check” election process, where employees sign authorization petitions, does not require an employer to recognize a union under the current labor law. If they wish to do so, the employer can force the union to hold another election, this time by secret ballot.
Think about it. If a clear majority of the workers in a shop are willing to vote pro-union in a “card check” process, isn’t it redundant for them to have to vote by secret ballot? Isn’t it just another hurdle that the employer can throw in the way of workers who want to organize? Isn’t it a way for them to buy time to find a pretext to fire pro-union workers and hire non-union ones?
Some might argue that the workers have the right to a secret ballot in all cases to avoid pressure by the union and its supporters. I won’t deny that this happens in the real world. But I would also point out that workers who sign authorization cards have as much or more to lose by publicly “outing” themselves as pro-labor for their bosses to see. I would imagine that if an absolute majority of the employees in a shop are willing to open themselves up to retaliation by signing authorization cards, it’s only logical that a union vote would pass by an even larger majority in a secret ballot election.
Once again, if workers prefer a secret ballot election, the option would still be there. The Employee Free Choice Act would only eliminate the redundancy of requiring a secret ballot election for shops that have already gone through the card check process and come out with over 50% support.
With allegations of voter fraud and intimidation coming from both major parties, and considering the failed voter intimidation campaign by the Montana GOP a month ago, it is more important than ever that you are aware of your rights and that you “vote defensively”. According to the Montana Secretary of State, you have the following rights (among others):
If you feel that you have been denied your rights, SPEAK UP! There is a toll-free voter hotline you can call: 1-888-OUR-VOTE (8683). It is a non-partisan hotline, and the operators will help you determine if you have been mistreated and what you can do ab out it. You should also fill out a complaint form, which the state is required to provide under the Help America Vote Act, and is available on the web here. Finally, you can check out ourvotelive.org to report voting problems at your polling place, and check out reports from your community and across the nation. You can see what problems other people are experiencing before you go to vote, that way you know what kind of monkey business to be on the look out for!
I imagine that on November 4th your voting process will go smoothly. In the vast majority of cases, elections come off without anything fishy happening. But it never hurts to be prepared! The best way to make sure that fraud doesn’t happen in Montana (or wherever you are) is to be informed.
