Employee Free Choice Poll Gives Labor Backers Big Boost

Proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act received a big boost Tuesday morning with the publication of an independent poll showing majority support both for the legislation and the greater concept of increased unionization.

Gallup Surveys released a study on Tuesday finding that 53 percent of respondents favored a new law that would "make it easier for labor unions to organize workers." Only 39 percent of respondents opposed such a law.

When asked how important it was that Congress pass such a law, 26 percent of respondents said "very," 29 percent said "somewhat," 23 percent said "not too important," and 20 percent said "not important at all."

Added up, the findings provide a solid boost to EFCA backers, with 55 percent expressing some desire to see Congress act on the legislation and 43 percent expressing a level of opposition or ambivalence (three percent said they had no opinion).

The study was conducted via a poll of 1,024 people across the nation. The survey did not reference the legislation by its name ("Employee Free Choice Act") or by the descriptions used by its opponents, like "card check."

That said, Gallup's description of the Employee Free Choice Act -- to "make it easier for labor unions to organize workers" -- seems one that cuts it relatively down the middle. Unions prefer to describe the legislation as giving "workers the free choice to join unions." The fact that a majority of respondents favored the legislation as described underscores the importance of the framing debate for business and labor.

The cross-tabs of the Gallup's survey provide equally interesting data points. Asked whether they would "favor or oppose a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers," the respondent break down went like this:

Republicans: 34 percent favor, 60 percent oppose; Independents: 52 percent favor, 41 percent oppose; and Democrats: 70 percent favor, and 23 percent oppose.

The surprise here: more than one out of every three Republicans favor laws that would ease unionization, suggesting there is room for labor officials to win over GOP converts.

If nothing else, the Gallup Poll is a nice marking point for where the Employee Free Choice Act debate currently stands, contradicting Monday's Rasmussen Poll that claimed nine percent of workers wanted to join unions, and pushing against -- to a certain extent -- the corporate and union polls conducted up to this point.

Comments

[Marcus-Ian]

06:02 PM on 03/17/2009

It cannot be denied that the decline of unionism and the overall stagnation of living standards for the majority of working families go hand in hand. It doesn't matter if one belongs or had belonged to a union. Unions were the catalyst for the many pension, health and safety laws and regulations that made it possible for working class Americans to be able to enjoy retirement without having to worry where their next meal was coming from. It is simply just, no more or no less, that workers who give their all for an employer should be able to deal with their employer in a fair, adult businesslike manner that is beneficial to employer and employee alike. It must be treated as a partnership, for the mutual benefit of all concerned, or, in Navy parlance,to have a happy ship. When employees are satisfied that their jobs are secure and they can take care of the bills, and put some of their pay aside for the future, it makes for a contented, productive workforce that can only do good for the bottom line, which makes for a contented employer and stockholders. Unfortunately, in the shortsighted pursuit of quarterly earnings, the middle class is being destroyed, which is the engine of the economy. It's the companies that treat their people like cattle that are kicking up all of the fuss. They forget some cattle have horns, and they're gonna get sharper. Ain't karma grand?

[Billpoch]

04:37 PM on 03/17/2009

Any thing that betters the working class and help raise the standard of living I am for. I hope that the days slinging blame down on the working class is gone . If still not convinced just look at those greedy A-holes on Wall Street and Corporate America.

[littleblackcat]

03:46 PM on 03/17/2009

I'm old enough to remember when the unions were in great shape (before they got a bit big for their britches and became a big business in their own right) and goods were MADE right here in this country. They were priced fairly and you got good value for your money. Seems to me we got too many "shareholders" who thought they were entitled to greater and greater dividend checks. This led to quarrels over the profit margin and the fat cats looked into moving the manufacturing plants overseas to take advantage of cheap labor.
The problem is cheap labor too often produces cheap goods. Without standards, and without the somewhat greater degree of pride in workmanship found in this country, it has become next to impossible to find quality merchandise any more. We need GOOD wages, without being greedily, stupidly good. By that I mean that there are some jobs that just do NOT merit $20 -25.00 per hour. We need more common sense.

[wdw505]

04:04 PM on 03/17/2009

unions are not how common sense is implemented

[Strywever]

06:26 PM on 03/17/2009

So you'd like to back to the days when your boss could threaten you with job loss if you didn't work 60, 70, 80 hours a week? When you could get fired because you had to take your sick baby to the doctor? When you could be locked in a room all day, until the boss determined it was time for you to stop working? When your pay was docked because you chatted with the person working next to you? When you could be forced to buy goods from a store your company owned, even though they were much higher priced than elsewhere? I could go on about the "goold old days," but I believe I've made my point.

Power corrupts, and it has certainly corrupted some unions. But corporations created fallow ground for unionization, and they are doing it again. Everyone I know in corporate employment works longer hours than ever before, and no one gets cost of living raises anymore, even though prices continue to climb. In fact, pay is shrinking rather than growing -- even while the corporations that employ us are enjoying higher and higher productivity (more product for less cost) that we provide them.

There would be no need for unions if corporations treated their employees like respected partners rather than "assets," which after all are expendable.

[Liberal2]

04:16 PM on 03/17/2009

And you're not worth minimum wage. Where do you fascists come from????

Given your display of commonsense, my commonsense tells me you are janitorial material.

[jbradshaw120]

03:03 PM on 03/17/2009

with regard to why we need EFCA here is an article at my unions web page about WAL MART
http://www.ufcw.org/press_room/index.cfm?pressReleaseID=428

[BizSamurai]

03:18 PM on 03/17/2009

Okay... bottomline in flow chart form. Higher wages and better benefits for employees - higher prices for customers that actually pay for the employees - jobs cut because people cannot afford to go to said retail establishment because now the prices aren't worth the trip to MegaWorld - lower sales equal lower profit margin equals lower numbers of employees in the end.

As for the safety aspect... I kinda thought that OSHA was put in place for that.

Hmmm... maybe I'm too much of a cynic to see this being beneficial in the long run. Agreed that labor practices are in need of reform but no one is addressing the eventual rise in the CPI i.e. inflation that will be riding the rails right behind this unionization train.

[wdw505]

03:28 PM on 03/17/2009

well said

[BizSamurai]

02:46 PM on 03/17/2009

Hey, as long as everyone is willing to pay a little more for what is produced by union workers... then go for it. Won't be any arguments from me... but the second I hear a person complain about consumer prices going up because the cost of labor has gone up I will be waiving the biggest hypocrisy flag that can be sewn together.

[wdw505]

03:30 PM on 03/17/2009

i am not willing

[SFGardener]

02:03 PM on 03/17/2009

Another DINO move:

Diane Feinstein's D.C. office confirmed today that she is opposed to the EFCA, and will vote against its passage. She's "concerned about its effect on small business."

[Horus45]

12:33 PM on 03/17/2009

Stupid Republicans always support views contrary to their own situation simply because their Republican Pol tells them how they should react to a position.

[joebloe]

12:23 PM on 03/17/2009

Look up union busters like martin levitt to see the tatics they use and tell me that is good for America

http://www.massaflcio.org/bust-union-busters-0

[wdw505]

12:23 PM on 03/17/2009

i would be ok with EFCA if you remove card check

[joebloe]

12:26 PM on 03/17/2009

Obviously you aren't paid well by your corporate backers. What 1, maybe 3 cents a post?

[wdw505]

12:45 PM on 03/17/2009

no just stating my opinion........but you can respect that because it differs from your liberal views.....laughing

[VPN]

12:31 PM on 03/17/2009

Why, don't you support freedom of choice?

[wdw505]

12:43 PM on 03/17/2009

yes, i do...election should be and have been held in secret ........feel free to choose in private

[joebloe]

12:20 PM on 03/17/2009

part 4

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

[Strywever]

07:21 PM on 03/17/2009

Well done, JoeBloe! Thanks for taking the time. :-)

[joebloe]

12:20 PM on 03/17/2009

part 3

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

[wdw505]

12:35 PM on 03/17/2009

Social Security is soon bankrupt...........most of my peers and i are paid in dividends to avoid most of this crap you have listed

[patricksmom]

01:55 PM on 03/17/2009

What "crap" are you talking about? Are you just concerned with yourself?

[jonolennon]

03:15 PM on 03/17/2009

Social security isn't bankrupt and won't be. Where would we be if we didn't have social security? 401K's are worthless and if you are a working class hero, there isn't much other than SSI to keep you from the street. I am a pro government conservative and believe government should be doing what is right for the working men and women of this country. So far in my lifetime, the Republican party has been the enemy of the working men and women. Historically, the Republicans seem to wreck the economy and the Democrats have to come in and clean up their mess. Check the historical facts and you will see this is true. Why are owners afraid of unions? Companies I see that treat their employees with respect and dignity usually don't have to worry about unions. It is the greedy businesses that try to get rich off the backs of working people that seem to be opposed to them. I have never belonged to a union but I tip my hat to them for all of the good things they have done for working people. I believe we need one large national union that everyone can belong to....blue collar, white collar and every other collar! That would level the playing field in a hurry.

[joebloe]

12:19 PM on 03/17/2009

part 2

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

[wdw505]

12:27 PM on 03/17/2009

there is no viable public transportation near me............

[VPN]

12:33 PM on 03/17/2009

Waaaaaaaaa, waaaaaaaaaaa, waaaaaaaaa call an wambulance!

[wdw505]

12:30 PM on 03/17/2009

gee, when that sidewalk is in disrepair........who fixes it........the business owner or home owner.......required by law........not the government

[joebloe]

12:19 PM on 03/17/2009

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN" part 1

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

[JohnBryansFontaine]

12:18 PM on 03/17/2009

Wdw505: no, it is time to crush the unions while we have the chance

‘we’ meaning Corporate/Management/ Fascists. Fascists are notorious for trying to crush Freedom.

For those who support Freedom:

EFCA Bumper Sticker: https://unionshop.aflcio.org/product1.cfm?Product_ID=1474

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/03/efca101.html

http://www.uaw.org/solidarity/09/0209/feature03.php
http://efcanow.blogspot.com/:
http://www.TheTruthAboutEFCA.Org
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
http://efcaunionbustingclub.blogspot.com/
http://www.FreeChoiceActNow.Org
http://www.LaborUnionResources.Org

[RandVictims]

11:45 AM on 03/17/2009

Most Americans are in favor of passing EFCA, especially now. This is a great first ste at leveling the playing field.

Next, we can move on to corporate overseas tax deferrments and H1-B visas.

"It's a reckoning, I reckon!"

[wdw505]

11:53 AM on 03/17/2009

wow most american's.......was there a vote...........how do you know this to be a fact.......i don't know any of my peers in favor of efca

[rickeagle]

12:10 PM on 03/17/2009

That would be a "POLL" of the American people.

There was no vote. Wrong definition.

It's called "POLLING".

P-O-L-L-I-N-G.

From Dictionary.com the word is POLL.

#4 - "A survey of the public or of a sample of public opinion to acquire information."

Have you POLLED your peers? How do you know this to be a fact?

[joebloe]

12:14 PM on 03/17/2009

1-Read article,

2-Comment