"Secret ballot" ads against Tom Allen

[janet118]

Up in Maine, you can't help but notice the airways are filled with ads about the "secret ballot." The group listed under one ad against Tom Allen and for Susan Collins was the "Coalition for a Democratic Workplace" or something to that effect. I'm wondering what it's connection to Wal-Mart is. It was strikingly similar to an anti-union ad that has been running nationwide. Both used "Johnny Sac" from the Sopranos as a thug who is trying to take away the "secret ballot" when workers are voting for a union. They are obviously expensive ads.

There is another ad running with the same theme that wants everyone to Call Tom Allen - I think the group is "protect secret elections" or something to that effect.

I don't know much about the union issue except that the so called "secret ballot" issue is framed to benefit the company position. Frankly, it's something the unions and the Maine Democratic Party should be all over this to educate the public.

Would appreciate any info on funding behind this barrage of ads or background on the issue as it applies to Maine.

Also noted are Susan Collins ads where she touts her environmental record (is there one?)

Please make this little Republican toadie disappear from the national scene.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Saw that secret ballot one last night. Sure burned me up

[ticapnews]

2. The name of the group is "EmployeeFreedom.org"

A group headed by this this prick
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman

The point of the ad isn't to sway anyone about the issue of union secret ballots. The point of the ad is to associate Tom Allen with organized crime. Having the actor best known as Johnny Sack from the Sopranos star in the ads was a particularly slimy move.

The ads are being run in other districts as well. Landrieu (LA), Franken (MN) and Lunsford (KY) are also being targeted. I believe Shaheen in New Hampshire has also been attacked by the group.

[Angsty]

3. Educate me

I don't know anything about this issue. Why should union ballots not be private? How does it benefit the worker to have the union know how he is voting?

[MaineDem]

4. Here's a decent explanation...

The Employee Free Choice Act, when enacted, will restore balance between corporate power brokers and workers trying to form unions.

Right now, corporations have ALL the power—
Corporations decide how workers will form their union.
Corporations illegally fire workers for supporting a union.
Corporations force workers into intimidation meetings with supervisors.
Corporations threaten to shut down if workers unionize.
Corporations delay contract negotiations.

And corporate fines for violating our rights are so insignificant that these fines are treated as just a regular cost of doing business. And as a result, 60 million workers who want to join unions cannot. Which means millions of working men and women are intentionally denied the higher wages and better benefits that come with a union card—and America’s middle class dwindles.

The Employee Free Choice Act isn’t complicated. It would enable workers to choose for themselves whether to form a union by majority sign-up or through a National Labor Relations Board election. It would strengthen penalties when corporations trample the rights of workers trying to organize and bargain. And it would ensure that once workers form a union, the company can’t indefinitely delay reaching a contract.

With wages stagnating, prices rising, health and pension benefits disappearing and the middle class shrinking, what could be more important than giving every working man and woman a fair chance to bargain for a better life?

http://unionmaine.blogspot.com/2008/08/dual-post-from-771-website.html

[luckyleftyme2]

5. I've witness it

I was working on a sand drain project on I-295 when a local contractor held a vote. their were people overseeing the voting. (federal and state as well as union officials)
I watched company supervisors threaten workers and try to intimate them. I also heard the superintendent of the project tell the men their vote would make no difference because if the union passed they would close the doors for thirty days and reopen under a different name. nothing was done about the company interference.
the vote passed about 2;1 for the union.
true to it's word the company shut down and opened 30 days or more later under another name. they are still in business.

[janet118]

6. Okay . . . but what about the "secret ballot" issue?

That's what they're focusing on in the ads. The secret ballot is sacred in America and they are using the issue to insinuate that Allen (or the other candidates) are against it. I agree it is less about unions than about trying to connect the Democratic candidates with thuggery and opposition to privacy in the voting booth.

The answer on the union blog doesn't address the issue directly and it should. Are the unions supporting public voting? Why? It seems to me that public voting would benefit the corporations more than the unions as they would know who to fire. Show me how I'm wrong.

[Shorebound]

7. Secret ballot

I'm also confused by this issue. I've had several people ask about it, because the ads paint Allen and other Dems in a very bad light, and I can't find a good explanation. Does this measure ban secret ballots, and if so, why? The secret ballot is the cornerstone of American democracy.

[janet118]

8. I think I found something on the AFL/CIO site

AFL-CIO Union News

Since 1935, federal law has provided two routes to union recognition: when a majority of workers in a workplace sign union authorization cards or when a majority of workers vote for union representation in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.

Under current law, however, the employer can refuse to recognize the signed authorization cards. Instead, the employer can insist on an NLRB election. Then, they use the election process to intimidate employees.

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act gives workers, not employers, the choice to decide whether union authorization cards or an NLRB election determine union recognition. The legislation would recognize a union if a simple majority of workers in the workplace sign union authorization cards. Hunter emphasized that the legislation does not eliminate secret ballot elections: an NLRB election would take place if 30 percent of the workers in the workplace requested an election.

[luckyleftyme2]

9. you finally got it

re read my first entree;this took place in the early 1970's. Last time I heard about it happening was last year. The set up now makes it hard to get the union in.
and thats the way the republicans and big business want it.
they either sell the company or change the name to defeat the union vote!
How many know the unions have the best skilled workers in america? how many know that a non-union contractor had to hire a union contractor to save their butt on the sand drain jobs in portland? (I-295 by pass back bay area)
how many people know that it is a proven fact that union contractors bids are usually lower and come in earlier than non- union.(but the profit is higher on non-union)
How many know their is usually less injuries on a union job.(one of the reasons unions were formed)
since Reagan killed the unions you have steadily lost week-ends,sunday pay,health insurance,vacation time,sick leave,job security,seniority and seen the good paying jobs go overseas.
well its time you consider this when you vote.
Don't be lulled into not voting! your vote counts!