Once again, the Republican attack machine is using deception to try to trick voters. There have been many ads on television lately featuring a former “Sopranos” heavyweight, who asks voters to call U.S. Rep. Tom Allen and demand that the secret ballot method of forming unions be kept as is.

What isn’t stated is that the current way of voting for unions is flawed, and favors the employer rather than the employee. Intimidation, harassment and employee firings have been the result of the current form of the ballot.

Anti-union groups have launched a $120 million ad campaign (of which the ad mentioned above is a part). The primary goal is the continued disintegration of workers’ rights and union-busting.

The new way of voting, majority signup, would allow workers to form unions without the fear of being fired. It would give the workers a fair and direct path to form unions, and toughen penalties against employers who violate the workers’ rights.

As reported in “The Wall Street Journal” recently, a certain large chain of stores may have unintentionally done workers a favor when it warned its store managers and supervisors that a Democratic and Obama victory in November would make it easier for unions to form, with the passage of the majority signup legislation.

The Federal Election Commission has been asked to investigate.

Jim Bossie, Lewiston