New Polls: Ties to Labor's Liberal Agenda Pose Risks for Candidates

Research shows overwhelming voter support for maintaining private ballots for workers

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of recent news reports indicating that labor unions have spent millions on independent expenditures on behalf of the presidential campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama and millions more on Senate and Congressional races, new survey research findings warn that support for Big Labor's agenda, including their number 1 priority -- the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) -- could spell trouble for candidates in close races on Election Day.

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) today released results from a series of surveys in the battleground states of Minnesota, Colorado and Maine conducted by McLaughlin & Associates.

Nearly two-thirds of voters in Colorado (68%), Maine (72%) and Minnesota (65%) oppose the EFCA. Moreover, voters in Minnesota and Colorado would be less likely to support candidates who support the EFCA. Specifically, a plurality of voters would be less likely to vote for Mark Udall (44%) and Al Franken (41%) if they support this legislation. Moreover, at least 80% of voters in all three states believe that secret ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be kept for union elections.

"It's clear that opposing the private ballot for workers is a political liability for candidates, particularly those running in tight races," said Brian Worth, vice president of the Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc. and member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. "Our polling shows that this issue is a potential millstone for candidates who get on the wrong side of voters' rights to privacy and a workplace free from intimidation," added Worth.

In an effort to fight declining union membership, the labor lobby has aggressively sought passage of the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Under the EFCA, workers would lose their right to a private ballot when deciding whether to join a union. The private ballot would be replaced with a "card-check" scheme where a union is organized if a majority of workers simply sign a card; the workers' signatures are made public to their employer, the union organizers and their co-workers.

Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the following statement:
"Secret and private ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and
should be kept for union elections."

CO Union Non- ME Union Non- MN Union Non- Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH

Agree 82 90 83 80 86 79 82 82 82
Dis- agree 9 5 10 10 7 11 10 13 9

If an election were held to decide whether workers would organize a union,
which one of the following types of elections is the best way to protect
the individual rights of workers? Having a process where a union is
organized if a majority of workers simply sign a card and the workers'
signatures are made public to their employer, the union organizers and
their co-workers. OR, having a federally supervised secret and private
ballot election where workers privately vote yes or no on whether to
authorize union representation.

CO Union Non- ME Union Non- MN Union Non- Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH
Sign
Card 17 22 15 12 6 14 16 15 16
Secret
Ballot 72 69 74 77 83 76 72 72 73

Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Mark Udall/Al Franken
for US Senate if you knew that he supported legislation to take away a
worker's right to have a federally supervised secret and private ballot
election when deciding whether to organize a union and replace that secret
and private ballot system with a card check system that would make public
how each worker voted to both union leaders and his or her employer? If
it would make no difference, just say so.

CO Union Non- MN Union Non- Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH
More Likely 13 20 11 11 11 11
Less Likely 44 44 45 41 37 45
No Difference 27 21 29 25 27 24

Should federal laws be changed by Congress to make it much easier for
unions to hold elections in non-union work places to organize more workers
into unions or should the laws be left the way they are now?

CO Union Non- ME Union Non- MN Union Non- Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH Total HH Union HH
Make
Easier 30 49 26 25 36 23 30 41 26
Left the
Way They
Are Now 56 35 62 57 48 59 50 45 52

Methodology: McLaughlin & Associates conducted statewide surveys among general election voters in Colorado (n=400), Maine (n=400) and Minnesota (n=500) between March 6th and 9th, 2008. All interviews were conducted by professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection was at random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to statistically correlate with actual voter distributions in statewide general elections. The accuracy of the samples of 400 likely general election voters is within +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. The accuracy of the sample of 500 likely general election voters is within +/- 4.5% at a 95% confidence interval.

About the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is made up of more than 500 associations and organizations from every state across the nation that have joined together to protect a worker's right to a private ballot when deciding whether to join a union. For more information and a complete listing of our membership, please visit http://www.myprivateballot.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CONTACT: Rhonda Bentz for Coalition for a Democratic Workplace,
+1-202-580-7289

Web site: http://www.myprivateballot.com/

2008-04-01 18:05:29 0325577 PRNEWSWIRE