LA, NH and NM surveys show overwhelming support among union households for

                  maintaining private ballots for workers



    WASHINGTON, July 23 /EMWNews/ -- As Election Day nears, new research

shows troubling signs for candidates who support the misnamed Employee Free

Choice Act - or union "card check" legislation. The surveys conducted in

the battleground states of Louisiana, New Hampshire and New Mexico are

consistent with nationwide voter sentiment and with polls taken earlier

this year in other states. The research also sheds additional light on the

disparity between union workers around the country and union bosses in

Washington regarding the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).



    Faced with declining union membership, labor leaders have aggressively

sought passage of the EFCA. Under the EFCA, workers would effectively lose

their right to a private ballot when deciding whether to join a union. The

private ballot would be replaced with a "card-check" scheme where a union

is automatically recognized if a majority of workers simply sign a card;

the workers' signatures are made public to their employer, the union

organizers and their co-workers.



    "It's clear there's a disconnect between the labor bosses in

Washington, DC who are lobbying to effectively remove private ballots for

workers, and rank and file union members who overwhelmingly support keeping

their vote private when deciding whether or not to join a union," said

Brian Worth, vice president of the Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc.

and member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. "Opposition to the

Employee Free Choice Act is widespread among voters in Louisiana, New

Hampshire and New Mexico, regardless of party affiliation and actually

increases among union members themselves. Hopefully, candidates are

listening," added Worth.



    Highlights from the surveys include:



    -- Two-thirds of Louisiana voters (67%), seven in ten New Hampshire

voters (71%), and nearly eight in ten New Mexico voters (78%) agree that

secret ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be kept

for union elections. Agreement with this statement increases among union

households to 78% in Louisiana, 75% in New Hampshire and 87% in New Mexico.



    -- At least seven in ten voters in Louisiana (71%), New Hampshire (73%)

and New Mexico (77%) say that having a federally supervised secret ballot

election is the best way to protect workers' rights when organizing a

union. Among union households, this sentiment increases to 80% in

Louisiana, 81% in New Hampshire and remains consistently high in New Mexico

(78%).



    -- The majority of voters in Louisiana (63%), two-thirds of New

Hampshire voters (68%), and seven in ten New Mexico voters (72%) oppose

Congress' "Employee Free Choice Act". Among union households, opposition to

the legislation increases to 68% in Louisiana and to 76% in New Mexico.

Union household opposition to the EFCA in New Hampshire remains

consistently high at 69%.



    -- A plurality of voters in Louisiana would be less likely to vote for

Mary Landrieu (45%) if she supports the EFCA. In New Hampshire, 46% of

voters would be less likely to vote for Jeanne Shaheen if she supports this

legislation. More than four in ten voters in New Mexico (44%) would be less

likely to Tom Udall if he supports this legislation.



    More information about each statewide poll is attached and can also be

found at http://www.MyPrivateBallot.com.



    Methodology: McLaughlin & Associates conducted statewide surveys among

general election voters in Louisiana (n=400), New Hampshire (n=300) and New

Mexico (n=400) on July 8th through 10th, 2008. All interviews were

conducted by professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection

was at random within predetermined election units. These units were

structured to statistically correlate with actual voter distributions in

statewide general elections. The accuracy of the sample of 300 likely

general election voters is within +/- 5.7% at a 95% confidence interval.

The accuracy of the samples of 400 likely general election voters is within

+/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval.

    About the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace



    The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is made up of more than 500

associations and organizations from every state across the nation that have

joined together to protect a worker's right to a private ballot when

deciding whether to join a union. For more information and a listing of our

membership, please visit http://www.MyPrivateBallot.com.



    Voters Want to Protect a Worker's Right to a Secret Ballot Election



    The issue of protecting a worker's right to a secret ballot could be a

liability to Democratic candidates who support the unions' position. Voters

in Louisiana, New Hampshire and New Mexico favor federally supervised

secret ballot elections over a process where the majority of workers simply

sign a card and workers' signatures are made public to their employers,

union organizers and co-workers. In fact, the overwhelming majority of

voters agrees that secret ballots are the cornerstone of democracy and

should be kept for union elections. The majority of voters opposes a bill

in Congress called the "Employee Free Choice Act" which would replace

federally supervised secret ballot elections with a process that requires

the majority of workers to simply sign a card to authorize organizing a

union.



    More specifically, seven in ten voters in Louisiana (71%), New

Hampshire (73%) and New Mexico (77%) say having a federally supervised

secret ballot election is the best way to protect workers' rights when

organizing a union. This sentiment increases among union households in

Louisiana (80%) and New Hampshire (81%).



    If an election were held to decide whether workers would organize a

union,



    which one of the following types of elections is the best way to

protect the individual rights of workers? Having a process where a union is

organized if a



    majority of workers simply sign a card and the workers' signatures are

made



    public to their employer, the union organizers and their co-workers.

OR,



    Having a federally supervised secret ballot election where workers

privately




         vote yes or no on whether to authorize union representation.





                           Non-                   Non-                   Non-

              LA    Union  Union    NH    Union   Union   NM     Union   Union

             Total   HH     HH     Total   HH      HH    Total    HH      HH

    Sign

     Card     16     10     16      13     14      14      9      15       8

    Secret

     Ballot   71     80     69      73     81      73     77      78      80



    More than two thirds of voters in Louisiana (67%), New Hampshire (71%)

and New Mexico (78%) agree that secret ballot elections are the cornerstone

of democracy and should be kept for union elections. Agreement with this

statement increases among union households (78% LA / 75% NH / 87% NM).



    Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the following

statement?



    "Secret ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be

kept




                            for union elections."





                           Non-                   Non-                   Non-

              LA    Union  Union    NH    Union   Union   NM     Union   Union

             Total   HH     HH     Total   HH      HH    Total    HH      HH

    Agree     67     78     64      71     75      71     78      87      78

    Disagree  20     15     21      18     17      19     14       7      15



    The majority of voters in Louisiana (63%), New Hampshire (68%) and New

Mexico (72%) opposes Congress's "Employee Free Choice Act", which would

replace a federally supervised secret ballot process with one that requires

a majority of workers to simply sign a card to authorize a union.

Opposition increases among union households in Louisiana (68%) and New

Mexico (76%).



    There is a bill in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act which

would



    replace a federally supervised secret ballot election with a process

that requires a majority of workers to simply sign a card to authorize

organizing a union and the workers' signatures would be made public to

their employer, the




   union organizers and their co-workers. Do you support or oppose Congress

                          passing this legislation?





                           Non-                   Non-                   Non-

              LA    Union  Union    NH    Union   Union   NM     Union   Union

             Total   HH     HH     Total   HH      HH    Total    HH      HH



    Support   22     26     20      18     29      16     16      20      15

    Oppose    63     68     62      68     69      69     72      76      72





         Voters Are Less Likely to Support Pro-Card Check Candidates

    Voters in Louisiana, New Hampshire and New Mexico would be less likely

to vote for a candidate for U.S. Senate who supports legislation to replace

a secret ballot system with a card check system. A plurality of voters

would be less likely to vote for Mary Landrieu (45%), Jeanne Shaheen (46%)

and Tom Udall (44%) if they support this legislation. Clearly, supporting

legislation to replace secret ballots with a card check system will have

negative consequences for potential Senate candidates.



    Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Mary

Landrieu/Jeanne Shaheen/Tom Udall for US Senate if you knew that she/he

supported legislation



    to take away a worker's right to have a federally supervised secret

ballot



    election when deciding whether to organize a union and replace that

secret ballot system with a card check system that would make public how

each worker




   voted to both union leaders and his or her employer? If it would make no

                           difference, just say so.





                           Non-                   Non-                   Non-

              LA    Union  Union    NH    Union   Union   NM     Union   Union

             Total   HH     HH     Total   HH      HH    Total    HH      HH

    More

     Likely   14     22     12      13     17      11     11      33       7

    Less

     Likely   45     44     46      46     50      47     44      35      47

    No

     Differ-

     ence     31     26     32      33     23      36     36      24      38



    Methodology: McLaughlin & Associates conducted statewide surveys of

general



    election voters in Louisiana (N=400), New Hampshire (N=300) and New

Mexico



    (N=400) between July 8th and 10th, 2008. All interviews were conducted

by



    professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection was at

random



    within predetermined election units. These units were structured to



    statistically correlate with actual voter distributions in statewide

general



    elections. The accuracy of the samples of 400 likely general election

voters is within +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. The accuracy of the

sample of




  300 likely general election voters is within +/- 5.7% at a 95% confidence

                                  interval.