Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and “Card Check”

• A majority of registered voters polled (48 percent) say they would rather not be in a union at their job, given the choice. (FOX News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) | March 14-16, 2011)
   
• 80 percent of private and government union employees agree that workers should have the right to decide whether to join a union and that they should never be forced or coerced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 59 percent of private and government union employees say if there were a secret ballot election and they were 100 percent confident their votes would never be revealed, they would vote to remove their union leadership for spending union dues membership on partisan political activity and negative ads. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• A majority of adults polled nationwide (45 percent) oppose Congress passing legislation that would change the way in which workers unionize that would allow workers at a company to join a labor union if a majority of workers at that company sign a petition saying they want to form a union, rather than by requiring the vote take place in a federally supervised secret ballot election as they do now. (NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R) | April 23-26, 2009)
   
• 74 percent of likely voters oppose “The Employee Free Choice Act.” Union households also strongly oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, 74 percent oppose to only 20 percent support. (McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for Coalition for A Democratic Workplace | January 7-11, 2009)
   
• When given a more detailed description of the Employee Free Choice Act, nearly 9 out of 10 voters, 86 percent, feel the process should remain private and only 8 percent feel it should be public information. Again, even union workers feel strongly that the process should be kept private, as 88 percent said private and only 8 percent said public. (McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for Coalition for A Democratic Workplace | January 7-11, 2009)
   
• 82 percent of voters favor having a federally supervised election as a means to protect the individual rights of workers (only 11 percent of voters feel the card check would be the best way to protect the individual rights of workers). Support increases to 85 percent among union households. (McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for Coalition for A Democratic Workplace | January 7-11, 2009)
   
• The vast majority (52-to-26 percent) of American voters believe that the Employee Free Choice Act is not good for job creation. Even among union households, the plurality (48 percent) believes that the Employee Free Choice Act will cost America jobs. (McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for Coalition for A Democratic Workplace | January 7-11, 2009)

Politics

• 68 percent of registered voters say they are concerned that public employee unions have too much influence over politicians who, when elected, must negotiate with these groups. (FOX News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) | March 14-16, 2011)
   
• 66 percent of government and private union employees say it is unreasonable that union leaders across America can spend their dues on politics without getting their approval. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 65 percent of private union employees and 56 percent of government union employees oppose the use of their union dues to be spent influencing elections (in the 2010 election cycle). (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Only 13 percent of private and government union employees said they are not angry when their union dues are spent on:
  • Union bosses and election activity with very little accountability and transparency. (27 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding candidates or parties without consent or support. (22 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding Democrats 90% of the time over the past ten years. (13 percent say this makes them angriest)
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)

• 89 percent of private and government union employees agree that union workers should have the right to know how their dues money is being spent and believe the Department of Labor should disclose union spending on the Internet to ensure accountability. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Only 13 percent of private and government union employees said they are not angry when their union dues are spent on:
  • Union bosses and election activity with very little accountability and transparency.
  • Union bosses’ big salaries and perks.
  • Funding candidates or parties without consent or support.
  • Funding Democrats 90% of the time over the past ten years.
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)

• 89 percent of private and government union employees agree that union workers should have the right to know how their dues money is being spent and believe the Department of Labor should disclose union spending on the Internet to ensure accountability. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 69 percent of private and government union employees believe union officials need to stop spending union dues on partisan politics and invest it in creating more jobs, as well as focus on the membership, not the elections. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 59 percent of private and government union employees say if there were a secret ballot election and they were 100 percent confident their votes would never be revealed, they would vote to remove their union leadership for spending union dues membership on partisan political activity and negative ads. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 40 percent of adults nationwide say they would like to see labor unions in the United States have less influence than they have today. Only 29 percent would like to see unions wield more influence. (Gallup Poll | August 5-8, 2010)
   
• A majority of adults polled nationwide (45 percent)oppose Congress passing legislation that would change the way in which workers unionize that would allow workers at a company to join a labor union if a majority of workers at that company sign a petition saying they want to form a union, rather than by requiring the vote take place in a federally supervised secret ballot election as they do now. (NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R) | April 23-26, 2009)
   
• 50 percent of registered voters overwhelmingly oppose Congressional legislation to change how unions may form in companies. There are two parts they were asked to consider. The first part would change the way unions are formed. Instead of holding a federally supervised secret ballot election to decide whether to unionize, union organizers would be allowed to ask employees to sign a card saying they support forming a union. If a majority of employees sign these cards, the union would officially represent that company’s entire workforce. The second part of the legislation would change the bargaining process. It would give the newly formed union and the employer 90 days to reach a contract agreement or else the matter will be handed over to federal arbitrators. It would be those arbitrators who would determine the wages, benefits and other terms of the contract that employees would be required to work under for two years. Only 37 percent of registered voters expressed support. (Diageo/Hotline Poll conducted by FD | January 21-24, 2009)

Ethics

• 68 percent of registered voters say they are concerned that public employee unions have too much influence over politicians who, when elected, must negotiate with these groups. (FOX News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) | March 14-16, 2011)
   
• 44 percent of government and private union employees believe American unions are less honest and principled than they were 50 years ago. Only 30 percent believe unions are more honest and principled. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 52 percent of government and private union employees say they have “only a little” or “none at all” when it comes to their trust and confidence in the ability of union leaders to improve the quality of life for hardworking Americans. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Generally speaking, 72 percent of government and private union employees believe union leaders in America should be held more accountable to improve how they represent workers. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 57 percent of government and private union employees think the union dues they pay annually, based on the value they receive for those dues, are too high. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 71 percent of private union employees and 58 percent of government union employees say that when it comes to union leaders’ salaries and compensation, they are overpaid. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 74 percent of government and private union employees say it is unreasonable for union leaders to earn salaries in excess of $250,000 annually. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 66 percent of government and private union employees say it is unreasonable that union leaders across America can spend their dues on politics without getting their approval. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Over the next two years (10/2010-10/2012) 66 percent of government and private union employees believe it is likely that their union leaders’ salaries will increase. 46 percent of union employees believe it is unlikely that their own salaries will increase. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 65 percent of private union employees and 56 percent of government union employees oppose the use of their union dues to be spent influencing elections (in the 2010 election cycle). (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 60 percent of private and public union employees believe that America’s largest labor unions – such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and SEIU – are wastefully and unnecessarily spending tens of millions of dollars individually and hundreds of millions of dollars collectively to protect Democrats on Capitol Hill in the 2010 midterm elections. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Only 13 percent of private and government union employees said they are not angry when their union dues are spent on:
  • Union bosses and election activity with very little accountability and transparency. (27 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Union bosses’ big salaries and perks. (25 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding candidates or parties without consent or support. (22 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding Democrats 90% of the time over the past ten years. (13 percent say this makes them angriest)
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
     
• 89 percent of private and government union employees agree that union workers should have the right to know how their dues money is being spent and believe the Department of Labor should disclose union spending on the Internet to ensure accountability. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 79 percent of private and government union employees have strong negative opinions about union officers in general. Specifically, they feel union officers are:
  • Out for themselves (29 percent)
  • Inconsistent (16 percent)
  • Out of touch (14 percent)
  • Too powerful (13 percent)
  • Uncaring (7 percent)
  • None of these (21 percent)
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
     
• 69 percent of private and government union employees believe union officials need to stop spending union dues on partisan politics and invest it in creating more jobs, as well as focus on the membership, not the elections. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 59 percent of private and government union employees say if there were a secret ballot election and they were 100 percent confident their votes would never be revealed, they would vote to remove their union leadership for spending union dues membership on partisan political activity and negative ads. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• By a polling margin of 46-to-42 percent, a majority of registered voters polled have a generally unfavorable opinion of labor unions. (FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll | March 31-April 1, 2009)
   
• 44 percent of adults surveyed say most working Americans do not want to belong to a labor union. Only 23 percent believe otherwise. (Rasmussen Reports | March 13-14, 2009)
   
• 81 percent of non-union member adults polled said they would not like to belong to a labor union where they work. (Rasmussen Reports | March 13-14, 2009)
   
• 51 percent of adults nationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 7-10, 2006)
   
• 52 percent of adults nationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 28-30, 2005)
   
• 54 percent of adults nationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 4-6, 2003)

Business and Economy

• Overall, adults nationwide by a margin of 36-to-24 percent think labor unions have a generally negative effect on the ability of American companies to compete globally. (Pew Research Center poll | February 2-7, 2011)
   
• 40 percent of adultsnationwide, a majority of those polled, say they would like to see labor unions in the United States have less influence than they have today. Only 29 percent would like to see unions wield more influence. (Gallup Poll | August 5-8, 2010)
   
• 51 percent of adultsnationwide think labor unions mostly hurt the U.S. economy in general. (Gallup Poll | August 6-9, 2009)
   
• 62 percent of adultsnationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 6-9, 2009)
   
• 42 percent of adultsnationwide, a majority of those polled, say they would like to see labor unions in the United States have less influence than they have today. Only 25 percent would like to see unions wield more influence. (Gallup Poll | August 5-8, 2009)
   
• The vast majority (52-to-26 percent) of American votersbelieve that the Employee Free Choice Act is not good for job creation. Even among union households, the plurality (48 percent) believes that the Employee Free Choice Act will cost America jobs. (McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for Coalition for A Democratic Workplace | January 7-11, 2009)
   
• 50 percent of registered votersoverwhelmingly oppose Congressional legislation to change how unions may form in companies. There are two parts they were asked to consider. The first part would change the way unions are formed. Instead of holding a federally supervised secret ballot election to decide whether to unionize, union organizers would be allowed to ask employees to sign a card saying they support forming a union. If a majority of employees sign these cards, the union would officially represent that company’s entire workforce. The second part of the legislation would change the bargaining process. It would give the newly formed union and the employer 90 days to reach a contract agreement or else the matter will be handed over to federal arbitrators. It would be those arbitrators who would determine the wages, benefits and other terms of the contract that employees would be required to work under for two years. Only 37 percent of registered voters expressed support. (Diageo/Hotline Poll conducted by FD | January 21-24, 2009)

Public Sector Benefits and Collective Bargaining

• 63 percent of registered voterssupport making public employees pay more for their benefits and retirement programs in order to reduce state budget deficits. (Quinnipiac University Poll | February 21-28, 2011)
   
• 45 percent, a majority of registered voters polled, support limiting collective bargaining for public employees in order to reduce state budget deficits. (Quinnipiac University Poll | February 21-28, 2011)
   
• By a 47-to-41 percent margin, registered voters think the effort to limit collective bargaining by public employees is more about controlling costs than weakening unions. (Quinnipiac University Poll | February 21-28, 2011)

Public Opinion of Unions by Non-Union Members

• A majority of adults nationwide, 46 percent,think unions are generally more harmful than helpful in states in which government workers belong to unions. (USA Today/Gallup Poll | February 21, 2011)
   
• Overall, adults nationwide by a margin of 36-to-24 percent think labor unions have a generally negative effect on the ability of American companies to compete globally. (Pew Research Center poll | February 2-7, 2011)
   
• A majority of adults polled nationwide (45 percent)oppose Congress passing legislation that would change the way in which workers unionize that would allow workers at a company to join a labor union if a majority of workers at that company sign a petition saying they want to form a union, rather than by requiring the vote take place in a federally supervised secret ballot election as they do now. (NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R) | April 23-26, 2009)
   
• By a polling margin of 46-to-42 percent, a majority of registered voters polled have a generally unfavorable opinion of labor unions. (FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll | March 31-April 1, 2009)
   
• 44 percent of adultssurveyed say most working Americans do not want to belong to a labor union. Only 23 percent believe otherwise. (Rasmussen Reports | March 13-14, 2009)
   
• 81 percent of non-union member adultspolled said they would not like to belong to a labor union where they work. (Rasmussen Reports | March 13-14, 2009)
   
• 51 percent of adultsnationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 7-10, 2006)
   
• 52 percent of adultsnationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 28-30, 2005)
   
• 54 percent of adultsnationwide think labor unions mostly hurt workers who are not members of unions. (Gallup Poll | August 4-6, 2003)

Union Workers’ Opinions on Union Issues

• 52 percent of government and private union employees polled believe the best days for unions in America are behind us. Only 20 percent believe the best days are ahead of us. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 60 percent of government and private union employees believe American unions are less powerful than they were 50 years ago. Only 25 percent believe unions are more powerful. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 44 percent of government and private union employees believe American unions are less honest and principled than they were 50 years ago. Only 30 percent believe unions are more honest and principled. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 52 percent of government and private union employees say they have “only a little” or “none at all” when it comes to their trust and confidence in the ability of union leaders to improve the quality of life for hardworking Americans. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Generally speaking, 72 percent of government and private union employees believe union leaders in America should be held more accountable to improve how they represent workers. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• A vast majority (46-to-21 percent) of government and private union employees believe union officers these days mostly look out for themselves. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 57 percent of government and private union employees think the union dues they pay annually, based on the value they receive for those dues, are too high. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 71 percent of private union employees and 58 percent of government union employees say that when it comes to union leaders’ salaries and compensation, they are overpaid. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 74 percent of government and private union employees say it is unreasonable for union leaders to earn salaries in excess of $250,000 annually. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 66 percent of government and private union employees say it is unreasonable that union leaders across America can spend their dues on politics without getting their approval. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Over the next two years (10/2010-10/2012) 66 percent of government and private union employees believe it is likely that their union leaders’ salaries will increase. 46 percent of union employees believe it is unlikely that their own salaries will increase. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 65 percent of private union employees and 56 percent of government union employees oppose the use of their union dues to be spent influencing elections (in the 2010 election cycle). (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 60 percent of private and public union employees believe that America’s largest labor unions – such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and SEIU – are wastefully and unnecessarily spending tens of millions of dollars individually and hundreds of millions of dollars collectively to protect Democrats on Capitol Hill in the 2010 midterm elections. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• Only 13 percent of private and government union employees said they are not angry when their union dues are spent on:
  • Union bosses and election activity with very little accountability and transparency. (27 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Union bosses’ big salaries and perks. (25 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding candidates or parties without consent or support. (22 percent say this makes them angriest)
  • Funding Democrats 90% of the time over the past ten years. (13 percent say this makes them angriest)
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
     
• 89 percent of private and government union employeesagree that union workers should have the right to know how their dues money is being spent and believe the Department of Labor should disclose union spending on the Internet to ensure accountability. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 60 percent of private and government union employeesconsider themselves “employees” first, over self-identifying as “workers” and “union members.” (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 79 percent of private and government union employeeshave strong negative opinions about union officers in general. Specifically, they feel union officers are:
  • Out for themselves (29 percent)
  • Inconsistent (16 percent)
  • Out of touch (14 percent)
  • Too powerful (13 percent)
  • Uncaring (7 percent)
  • None of these (21 percent)
    (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
     
• 69 percent of private and government union employees believe union officials need to stop spending union dues on partisan politics and invest it in creating more jobs, as well as focus on the membership, not the elections. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)
   
• 59 percent of private and government union employees say if there were a secret ballot election and they were 100 percent confident their votes would never be revealed, they would vote to remove their union leadership for spending union dues membership on partisan political activity and negative ads. (The Word Doctors | October 26-28, 2010)