As voters head to the polls to choose presidential nominees, they need to be aware that the incredibly misnamed "Employee Free Choice Act," wish-list item for the officials of organized labor, would not only turn labor law completely on its head but is literally the greatest assault on worker freedom in this nation's history.

What does it actually do? It eliminates every individual worker's right to a secret ballot election in a union organizing drive. If that isn't enough to frighten everyone, it would also require employers, whose workforce members would be organized by the simple signing of a card, to go to binding arbitration if a contract isn't agreed to within a very briefly prescribed period of time.

Both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are sponsors of this legislation, S. 1041, in the U.S. Senate. Both proudly told attendees at the recent AFL-CIO convention in Philadelphia that they would sign this legislation into law if elected president. Sen. John McCain is not a supporter of the legislation.

The truth is that "card check" is a far too clever euphemism for an incredible payoff to union officials. Unionfacts.com calculates that the AFL-CIO could double its membership with the new law, generating up to $5 billion in additional union dues. The head of Unionfacts.com, Rick Berman, said, "If the card check issue passes, it will be the death of tax cuts, school choice, budget reforms and more." It would eliminate the right of every worker - present and future - to a secret ballot in an organizing election. That certainly isn't right, no matter how its proponents try to justify it. Worse, it's just plain un-American.

Labor law has employed the fair and balanced principle of secret ballot elections since the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. A degree in rocket science is not needed to figure out why this "card check" scheme is touted by its proponents as a "reform" of some sort. That doesn't make it so. Real change and reform is based on individual choice. A secret ballot ensures that and protects every employee from intimidation.

Employees have every right in a free nation to make an individual decision as to whether or not they want to be represented by a labor union, and employers have every right to make their case to their employees. It's worked for 73 years.

We have real problems attracting and retaining good, family-sustaining jobs in Pennsylvania that call for fundamental, lasting solutions. We're losing our young people to other states because that's where the jobs are going. This isn't earth-shattering new news; it is a fact. "Card check" passage would contribute to the exodus. Our state slogan cannot be "Liberty and Jobs Not Welcome Here" - not in the cradle of liberty. Philadelphians and all Pennsylvanians deserve much better.

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Susan Staub is president of Pennsylvanians for Right to Work, Inc.