Alabama&8217;s economy is better today than I have ever seen it.

Numerous businesses have chosen Alabama to base operations, bringing thousands of jobs and keeping Alabama&8217;s unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. We must continue to build infrastructure, keep taxes low and allow free choice for our workers.

I do not, and will not, support the so-called &8220;Employee Free Choice Act,&8221; a bill that radically alters the process for worker unionization.

Under the current collective bargaining system, union organizers may ask for workers&8217; support but employers can ensure a secret ballot vote. This removes any outside pressure.

The proposed legislation would allow union organizers to ask workers to vote in the open – creating an awkward and potentially intimidating environment. Once a majority of a company&8217;s employees express consent, the union would automatically be certified as the bargaining agent for all the workers. This legislation takes away workers&8217; voting privacy.

It is my hope that

the Senate will join me in opposing this harmful bill.

Alabama has a robust economy in large part due to our tremendous workforce. We are a right-to-work state, neither forcing nor prohibiting participation in a union. Instead of creating new federal laws that favor power grabs by the unions, we need to build on our already strong economy. We must continue working to attract even more new jobs, rather than taking rights away from Alabama&8217;s workers. The so-called &8220;Employee Free Choice Act&8221; would do nothing but harm our workers, our businesses, and our economy