LaborPains.org

A new ad (pictured) by American Rights at Work is deceptive in what it omits. It quotes from a March 20th Wall Street Journal editorial, but hides the full quote from readers. Here is the quote, in its entirety:

“The bill doesn’t remove the secret-ballot option from the National Labor Relations Act but in practice makes it a dead letter.”

The full meaning of the WSJ is evident. For ARW to cut the quote in order to twist the meaning is downright disingenuous.

Unions know they can’t win on the facts. But that won’t stop them from trying to win by spending thousands to deceive.

The WSJ reports that Starbucks, Costco, and Whole Foods’ CEOs are apparently coming to DC in the coming weeks in order to push their compromise plan. Given that Specter left the door open to a different bill, who knows what could be proposed next as a “compromise.”

The Politico reports that moderate Dems are saying that they support compromise as well. Meanwhile, the exec. director of Change to Win says his organization is “full steam ahead in the field and in Washington.”

Unions always say that card check will be a good thing for employees. Well, FoxNews tracked down a card check situation at a car parts plant in Indiana. Guess what? Employees agreed to a union on paper (after much harassment), and then voted down the union in a secret ballot.

In Wisconsin, a local paper reports the executive director of a development company says that a project has been put on hold indefinitely on account of the proposal of EFCA. The project would create 800 jobs. EFCA’s so bad, it’s a job-killer without even having been passed.

Just in case you haven’t heard, Specter announced his opposition to EFCA and to voting for cloture. You can watch a video of his speech on LaborPains here.

But don’t get out the champagne just yet. The Hill quotes Reid saying that EFCA’s not dead:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dismissed the suggestion that Specter’s vote is the death knell for card-check, formally known as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Reid said. “He’s not the only Republican who has indicated a willingness to consider something being done.”.

Specter proposed a number of changes to the NLRA along with his speech. It’s also important to note in his speech that Specter leaves the door open to compromises, saying “I would be willing to reconsider Employees’ Free Choice legislation when the economy returns to normalcy.” In other words, this battle will resurface, sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Huff Post’s Levine tries to make hay of the Seattle 3′s Third Way proposal.

Misleading commentary from the SEIU is nothing new, but a post on their blog today is truly astounding. In a laughable attempt to claim that EFCA will preserve workers’ right to a secret ballot, they quote today’s Wall Street Journal editorial, saying:

“The bill doesn’t remove the secret-ballot option from the National Labor Relations Act…”

Hmm… Here’s that sentence again, without the SEIU’s editing:

“The bill doesn’t remove the secret-ballot option from the National Labor Relations Act but in practice makes it a dead letter.“

Notice a difference? I thought so. The fact that the unions are still clinging to the 30-50 myth is a reflection of their casual relationship with the truth. In case you’re still not sure EFCA ends elections, just read the bill itself:

If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a). [emphasis added]

SEIU is back in the news this week, thanks to the Washington Post:

The Service Employees International Union, considered the most influential union in the nation, has notified the union that represents about 220 of its national field staff and organizers that 75 of them are being laid off. In return, the workers’ union, which goes by the somewhat postmodern name of the Union of Union Representatives, has filed unfair labor practices charges against SEIU with the National Labor Relations Board.

…

“It’s completely hypocritical,” said staff union President Malcolm Harris.

Hypocritical? Yes. Out of character? Not for an organization so focused on expansion that it is willing to trade its members’ welfare for special treatment in secret deals.

Even other unions think SEIU’s tactics are way out of line. Just last week, rival union president John Wilhelm released a statement condemning “an unprecedented campaign of intimidation and harassment of UNITE HERE members, orchestrated by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its political consultant, Steve Rosenthal.”

Hmm… intimidation and harassment. That sounds familiar.

A couple new polls this week, including one from Gallup that unions are sure to latch on to.

Yesterday a new Rasmussen poll asked Americans if they would like to join a union. The results are a reminder of why union bosses are afraid of democratic elections:

only nine percent (9%) of non-union workers would like to join a union. Eighty-one percent (81%) would not.

It’s hard to win an election if fewer than 1 in 10 voters support you… Instead of replacing secret ballots with intimidation and deceit, maybe union bosses could try some new tactics, like not embezzling millions of dollars and bankrupting entire industries.

The second poll is from Gallup, and is a perfect example of meaningless statistics. The poll asked this question:

Generally speaking, would you favor or oppose a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers?

A slim majority, 53% of respondents, said they would favor such a law. So what does this say about Americans’ support of EFCA? Absolutely nothing. Even Gallup admits that the question is “not necessarily indicative of public reaction to the bill.”

More troubling for unions is that only a tiny majority supports this concept without any of the details given. When you consider that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the elimination of the secret ballot, it’s clear that with EFCA, the devil is in the details.

The Employee Free Choice Act isn’t a “general” bill. It’s a piece of real legislation with real provisions, like the section specifically barring the NLRB from calling an election. The only legitimate data in this Gallup poll is right at the end:

Those most closely following news about the union-organizing bill are the most opposed to the general concept of a law making it easier for unions to organize: just 40% are in favor; 58% are opposed. The bill enjoys its highest support – 58% – among those not following the bill at all.

The more you know about EFCA, the less likely you are to support EFCA.

On Tuesday, Slate.com’s Christopher Bean did a good job explaining how the Employee Free Choice Act effectively eliminates secret ballots in union organizing campaigns. He wrote:

Union elections are more complicated than either side admits. Maybe that’s why debate over the EFCA hangs on a single, simple question: Does the measure eliminate the “secret ballot” in union elections? Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce say yes. (Warren Buffett has voiced his concern as well.) Labor groups like the SEIU and AFL-CIO say no. Which is it? Would the bill eliminate the secret ballot?

In theory, no. In practice, yes. That is, if you believe the secret ballot even exists now.

In the article Bean links to an example of a union card from the United Food and Commercial Workers (EFCA). The card is amusing. At the very top is says:

Filling out and signing this card is a demonstration of your interest to be represented by UFCW Local 324.

Doing so does NOT automatically make you a Union member.

…except when it does.

How’s that for deception? The UFCW has been at the forefront of using EFCA-style Card Check/Neutrality campaigns to organize new workers. In those campaign, the union card is the only method of gauging an employee’s interest in joining the union. If the company agrees (which the union see to), then the union is certified. Basically, the card is the vote.