State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he isn't opposed to workers organizing in Alabama, he just wants to make sure it's done by secret ballot.

OOO suggestion Makes an employer's eligibility for economic development incentives conditional on the employer providing employees with voluntary union authorization solely on the basis of signed union authorization cards, and in return, requires that unionization votes be conducted by secret ballot.

Members of the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee approved the bill on Wednesday.

Oh discussed the bill on WVNN's “The Dale Jackson Show” on Friday.

“[P]”It's the art of the requirement that if you're going to spend a lot of taxpayer money, you have to have a union vote and that vote has to be a secret ballot,” Oh explained. “That's what it's all about. It doesn't say you can't unionize. You can't go down that path. It just says you have to have a vote and it has to be a secret ballot. I don't see a big problem with that.”

Orr, the state senator, believes this will prevent business and union leaders from putting pressure on employees.

“This will prevent any coercion by employers to try to force employees not to support the union,” he argued. “It will also prevent unions from coercing employees to vote for the union. So let the people make the decision. And let them make the decision by secret ballot, not by public voting with a card check system that tells you who's on your side and who's not. It becomes a real tug of war in a work environment.”

Orr also said he was concerned about the economic impacts to Alabama if the unionization effort was successful.

“If Alabama becomes known as a union state, if Alabama becomes the Michigan of the South when it comes to union organizing, that will impact future job locations and corporate location, including companies choosing to locate manufacturing in Alabama,” he said.

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow us on Twitter @Yaffe