Brain-Jockey

Check My Home, Check My Vote and Check My Card

Written by Audrie Zettick on January 9, 2009

I’m generally not a wimp.  As “cuddly” as I can be, I’ve also been known to put the fear of God in people with just a look and my “mom” voice (or alternatively, my “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-you-left-winger” voice.  As a former field hockey player, I know intimately how to wield various household objects in ways to protect myself.  It is seldom I feel threatened.

 

Of course, I also believe in living wisely and I don’t generally place myself in situations to feel threatened.  I work at home and on those occasions when I’m alone and the doorbell rings, I glance out the window before opening the door. Frankly, I never felt I shouldn’t open the door.  Until this past November.

 

Shortly before the election, my door rang.  I glanced outside and stopped before I reached for the door lock.  On my doorstep was a slouching, sloppily-dressed guy with a 3-day old beard.  He seemed to have  attitude.  I hesitated at first, but then spied his clipboard with what looked to be one of our township’s solicitation permits.  I figured he might be legit, but nonetheless figured I could bean him with my quickly accessible stack of computer printouts.   Or maybe the stapler.    

 

I opened the door and he spoke.

 

“I’m going around the neighborhood to check who people are voting for for president. “ 

 

He had a Service Employees International Union ID on him.  

 

Huh.

 

My mind pondered. (”If I tell him I’m voting for McCain/Palin, is my house safe?”).  I answered, “I’m keeping my vote choices to myself.”  I politely thanked him and closed the door. 

 

I felt strangely dirty afterwards.  Not because of him but because I’d not been an advocate for my position.  Me, the former Congressional candidate, blogging out loud person I am. 

 

Later, I figured I’d wimped out because I’ve never had someone come directly to my home.  Usually, we’re somewhere in the public arena debating issues.  But I don’t know what I was thinking…maybe that my house would be “egged” or something.

 

Shortly thereafter, I told my like-minded, conservative friend of the incident.  Her alarm surprised me.   Apparently, the SEUI has been trying to start a union at the drugstore chain she works for.  She’s a pharmacist and publicly licensed.  She’s not a shrinking violet but she’s fearful union reps will look up her home address via her licensing and personally come to her home to get her to “sign” a card.   And this is BEFORE we had the discussion on the “Employee Free Choice Act,” otherwise known as “Card Check,” which would virtually replace the option of a private ballot when voting for the formation of workplace union.

 

Given the way the SEIU reacts to dissention in its own ranks (today’s effort to break up an affiliate in California being one example), who’s to know how they’d handle the power of Card Check (or, the “Employee Anti-Choice Act”).  Could someone as strong as I am resist the pressure if someone came to my door, ”asking” me to sign a form supporting the formation of a union?   

 

With SEIU set to spend $10-$15 million promoting their agenda this year, including passage of Card Check, we’d all better be concerned this issue.

 

I think I’m also going to buy a screen door.