Ad Promoting Employee Free Choice Act Directed At Journos

The pro-labor organization American Rights at Work announced today that they will be launching an advertising campaign to promote the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the centerpiece of which is a television ad called "The Real Secret." The advertisement does a succinct job in laying out its central point, which is that the conversation of EFCA has thus far been dominated by big business, which has tirelessly and falsely contended that EFCA would deny workers the right to unionize via a secret ballot. In reality, EFCA will allow workers to do just that, but on their own terms, not the terms of their bosses.

But, to echo Greg Sargent, what's really interesting about this campaign is that it's not one that seeks to exclusively affect public opinion. Rather, as American Rights at Work's press release makes clear, the ads are specifically targeted at journalists: "Our goal is to make sure that betway opinion leaders understand that the smear campaign on the secret ballot is a totally false distraction." To that end, they will hit Beltway opinion-shapers where they live, airing this Sunday on the morning political talk-show circuit.

[WATCH.]

TRANSCRIPT

Corporate greed: it's caused a meltdown of our economy. Just look at the news, or your retirement account. Now, greedy CEO's want to prevent workers from joining unions to level the playing field. Their new scheme to keep wages low? Spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act. The truth is, the Employee Free Choice Act absolutely protects workers' right to choose a secret ballot election. But the choice would be the workers'. Not their bosses. That's the secret big business doesn't want you to know.

Comments

[Yermammy]

The reason idiotic rethug voters fall for the nonsense they do is because the GOP are very adept wordsmiths. They can describe a cow pissing on their stupid constituency in such a flowery way that the mouth breathers stand in line for the showers. Amazing, quite literally, that people can be that dumb. "Hell no I don't want ta make a livin' wage! My boss tole me so!" (LOL)

[000Jade000]

Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, on UNIONS, and our NEED for them (Recent blog):

http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-we-need-stronger-unions-and-how-to.html

[Topper23]

With only 12% of workers unionized, and most of them are govt. employees, it's obvious the vast majority of workers hve rejected unionization. See what it has done to the Big 3.

[Nikola Tesla]

So the Executives of the Big 3 bear NO responsibility for driving their companies off the cliff? Who's the boss? Get real.

[gageeandbaba]

they need to TARGET specific journalists! the ones who are the mouthpiece for the lies.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Start at the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

[Ourrias]

GREAT AD!

Run it in every legislative district represented by a Republican in Congress! Day and night!

[Grunty1]

While I'm on their side, focusing on convincing journalists seems like a waste of time and money. These people already know the truth, but are either not allowed to speak the truth or personally benefit from the defeat of this bill.

[SupremeIdiot]

Apparently I'm the only union member to weigh in on this. Any ldiot saying that a secret ballot should be "the rule" is either planning on intimidating workers, already has intimidated workers or is out of touch with the realities of the 21st century workplace.

First of all, union members vote on union business without secret ballots all the time.

Second, the reason for allowing secret ballots at the discretion of the workers is that it is now at the discretion of the business. The Boss tells the workers if they can vote by secret ballot or open ballot. Because the workers have to go to the Boss, the Boss is alerted to the attempt to organize, which, in turn, leads to The Boss threatening to close the shop or he just fires all of those causing him trouble.
If the organizer can hand a card to everyone and they can fill it out with their preference without the Boss knowing, they can THEN send it in anonymously to the organizer and you can get a true accounting of who wants to organize without the Boss' interference.

[brighterlight]

Appreciate the clarification. Big business likes to confuse things; they think the minions don't haves brains.

[Scarllatti]

You merit your "name" above.

[lacrossedadof2]

"If the organizer can hand a card to everyone and they can fill it out with their preference without the Boss knowing...­.."
The organizer can then intimidate the person who said no to the union, because he feels he can make a better deal on his own. I have worked both union and non-union in the electrical industry, unions are a joke. If you know someone you never get laid off, never have to work hard, and can suck up as much overtime as possible. I always made more money and had better benefits when i made my own deal. Unions are for people who dont want to wrk hard.

[buckbuck11]

Yeah, it's all about you, isn't it. Folks with no conscience have no problems stepping on the underlings who do the dirty work to negotiate their own deal.

Unions are for people who don't want America to become a third world banana republic.

[laborgrunt]

A union organizer has NO POWER over the worker, therefore he/she cannot intimidate a worker.
On the other hand the boss sure as hell can intimidate a worker to vote a certain way.

[turk96]

You have never worked in a union. If you had, you wouldn't be making false statements like this. You're just angry because you have to constantly kiss ass to move up in your job or remain employed, and union members don't. It's seniority based.

If you want to trust your future and your family's well-being to the altruism and morality of a corporation, then good luck to you. You'll need it. Personally, I like having a say in my workplace. I know what's better for me than some corporate bean counter.

[vjoseph]

Tony Blankey was repeating the meme tonight on 1600. I was soo annoyed I muted him

[lovable]

oooJADEooo didnt you know that you can go on tv now if you are a republican fillabuster your answer to a question so no more can be asked for those 4 minutes of you and you can now lie on tv and no one says a thing anymore. all the corrections are buried on the bloggs . the corrections never get back on tv ever . thats journalism today!!!!!!!

[JimBozo]

Here is the truth: http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/
Here is the lie: http://www.heritage.org/research/Labor/bg2027.cfm

Google is a wonderful thing.

[Irmanator]

Yeah, the Heritage Organization. Who funds that?

Here's an interesting argument from their article.
"Under card check, how­ever, workers who have not been contacted by union organizers have no say in whether their workplace organizes. If organizers collect cards from a majority of workers, all workers must join the union without a vote."

So, if a majority of workers turn in cards that support forming a union, how would an election change that - by giving those not interested in being a union a chance to cast a vote for the losing side? End result still = unionized.

[JeanPaulSatire]

The concern about the 'conversation' being one-sided and favoring business interests dove-tails nicely with a story on Think Progress about how the networks have been inviting far more Republicans than Democrats (more than a 2:1 ratio) on to talk about the stimulus legislation. Read it at http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/28/cable-news-stimulus/.

[billw8017]

Apparently, there are millionaire 'reporters­." The most are working stiffs and maybe more workmanlike than brilliant. They strive and have ideals. Many people put in their hours and regard employers with a certain weary cynicism that they have learned by experience. One thing they had (once upon a time, long ago) was the newspaper guilds. I remember being in a Journalism class in the 1970s and invited to a banquet where the guild was promoted. Management declared war on the guilds in the 1980s including a long strike/lockout at the leading Detroit paper.

America used to be a different place. Crushing the unions is one of the things that diminished the middle class and enlarged the destitute homeless. It was a part of what caused people to peddle the equity in their homes and led to the current crisis. There is an ironic poetry in a union campaign directed at journalists.

[godlessdem]

Where can we read the actual proposed legislation? I agree with DaCoach. I support the act but I don't think the workers should have to ask for a secret ballot. Secret ballots should be the rule. Period.

[jsob]

You find the bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.800:

[tel8034]

And you say that while you just OPENLY stated your choice ..........­....... You just voted for your preference in the OPEN.

[000Jade000]

Excellent!

Next up: STOP the LIE that "most Americans don't want to join a union."

The majority of Americans DO.

There was a GOP hack on MSNBC a little while ago that said "Americans have been RUNNING AWAY FROM unions for the last 30 years." That's a LIE! UNION-BUSTERS destroyed unions, and started intimidating workers who WANT to unionize.

[Mattie]

I went on line and read several articles about this, and everyone said the worker loses the right to vote in private, who do you believe. Your vote should be private, it shouldn't be that hard to prove or disprove who's telling the truth.

[jsob]

Were did you go online, anti-union sites?
Try: http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/whatis.cfm

[FernandoRuiz]

The problem isnt the secret ballot, the problem is CEOs firing any workers who try to get a secret ballot election going. Workers never get the chance to have a secret ballot election

[Woodmist]

The worker doesn't lose that right. They can opt for a secret ballot. Big Business lies. Right now the way it's structured it has to be cleared with the boss to vote secret ballot. That means boss can then call in the union busters because he has a heads up. With EFCA the boss is cut out of the decision which I think is better.

[lj9283]

You can read the soon to be Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' discussion of EFCA:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-hilda-l-solis/victory-for-workers-righ_b_42466.html

Or you can read about the bill on the page of the Democratic Caucus's Senate Journal:

http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/entry.cfm?id=277768

[DaCoach]

I strongly support the Act. However, the right to a secret ballot should not be at the request of the workers. Every voter must be entitled to a private vote. Imagine if the majority of voters in a precinct opted out of a secret ballot. Every American would be appalled. Make the entire balloting secret and pass the bill.

[jsob]

How are workers going to privately request a vote? I'm not crazy about the card system, but the bill takes control of the decision away from employers and gives it to the workers. In any case, secret ballots remain an option.

[Yermammy]

Why would people want a secret ballot unless they're the company brown noser and make waaaay more money than their co-workers? To keep from being torn limb from limb when they find out YOU are that brown noser making far more than anyone else? I know how you skuzzbuckets think.

[lacrossedadof2]

If you werent such a l@ser maybe you could work your own deal and do better than with the union, I always did. I always had more money and better benefits than my co-workers because i didnt let someone else promote me. Here is the secret, it doesnt change once your in a union, I still made deals on the side. I really didnt care about my "brothers" I always looked out for my family and myself.