It may seem like a weird contradiction to have a conservative say yes to unions. But let us not forget that Ronald Reagan was president of a union before he became president of the United States, and I think Reagan qualifies as a card-carrying conservative.

I belonged to three unions during my working career: Actors Equity, SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). At one point I was deeply involved with AFTRA, serving on the board in both Washington and New York. Chet Huntley resented being a member, calling us as a bunch of jugglers, but Walter Cronkite disagreed. Cronkite headed up a newsman's caucus, of which I was a participant.

Strangely, I was not a member of the Writers Guild.

The rule of thumb was: If you wrote for yourself, you did not have to be a member. I came close because the editor of the late news, seeing me sitting there after I had written my review, began to ask me to write a story for the anchorman. With only about 20 minutes to air, there was no time to argue, so I wrote it. After about the third time, I took him aside to remind him that I was not a WGA member and thus in violation. That ended that.

The Musicians Union also nearly got me. I had a network radio show that featured live musicians. I began (partly as a gag) joining them on the harmonica. Since most musicians did not consider the harmonica to be a real instrument, they let me play.

The Musicians Union thought otherwise and offered to let me in free if I could pass the test (reading music). Then they changed their minds and waived the test but not the initiation fee. Since I did not expect to make any money from a harmonica, I passed.

By and large, the executives heading the unions were a competent bunch. It also made sense that one executive secretary negotiate for 50,000 members as opposed to each worker trooping in to plead his cause. Also, in our unions, the contract called only for minimums. There was still meritocracy, as witnessed by the huge salaries paid to superstars.

But then, we were not the Teamsters or the Teachers Union or the United Auto Workers. Incompetence was not protected, as witnessed by the fact that 92 percent of Actors Equity was usually unemployed.

We also had our share of stumblebums at the top. I recall one pompous head of AFTRA who used to take us caucus members out to a fancy French restaurant and tell us, "Order big, people. It's on the union." But I was the union. My dues paid for this dinner and his overpaid salary. It took a while, but a group of us finally managed to dump him.

One of the few objections I had to union activity was the idea of the union supporting and contributing to a political candidate. The obvious answer to our objections, of course, was that said candidate was pro-labor. As far as we were concerned, so was his opponent.

And therein lies the flaw with the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 -- otherwise known as "card check." This dream act for organized labor tosses out secret ballots and demands that workers state publicly (by checking "Yes" or "No" on a card) whether they support joining a union. This is clearly a violation of the constitutional protection about speaking anonymously, and an open door to intimidation.

Why is this even being considered? It is an obvious bribe offered to organized labor by politicians who seek big labor support and money. One of the arguments in favor of it is Walmart, a nonunion chain that ostensibly mistreats its employees.

But does it? I recall moving here and entering my first Walmart. I asked a clerk, who was kneeling to stock a low shelf, where to find something. She insisted upon getting up and leading me to the right aisle despite my protests. I was thus impressed and remain impressed with the overwhelming help and kindness of Walmart employees -- all of them. Would they act like that if they were mistreated? I doubt it.

So join the union or not, as you see fit, but don't be pressured into it. Keep your vote private, just as you do in the ballot box. That's the American way. Let us stand up to anyone or any party that wants to change that.

Allan Jefferys, a former New York theater critic, entertainment editor and newsman, lives in Pinehurst. Contact him at oldjeff@embarqmail.com.