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The card check process—which essentially amounts to employees signing a petition instead of casting a secret ballot vote—is unregulated and highly susceptible to intimidation and fraud.

The release of the poll coincides with the Change To Win coalition’s organizing conference in Las Vegas, where thousands of union organizers are gathering to plan recruiting campaigns across the country. Card check methods are at the heart of their strategy.

According to Richard Berman, Executive Director of the Center for Union Facts, these numbers should prove a serious rebuff to the union officials pushing for increased reliance on card checks as the means by which a union is put into power.

Legal recognition of a union has traditionally been achieved through secret ballot elections, where each employee decides whether or not to support a union in the privacy of the voting booth—just like a person votes for the president or a senator. But unions frequently lose secret ballot elections and therefore are increasingly inclined to employ card checks.

“It’s clear the American people recognize that this method is completely undemocratic,” said Berman. “The right to vote for representation is at the core of the American experience. To bypass traditional elections simply because it is more convenient for those in power will never fly in America.”

The survey of 1,000 adults nationwide was conducted by telephone on March 18th, 2006 by Opinion Research Corporation. The margin of error is plus or minus three percent.

The Center for Union Facts is a non-profit organization supported by foundations, businesses, union members, and the general public. We are dedicated to showing Americans the truth about today's union leadership. For further information or to arrange an interview please call Sarah Longwell at (202) 463-7106.