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U.S. Master™ Wage-Hour Guide, 2007 Edition
Presents a first approach to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), summarizing
the basic legislation, demonstrating how the rules apply to particular
employment situations, and exploring practical aspects of employment arrangements
in light of the federal wage and hour law.
"In the wake of recent news reports indicating that labor unions have spent millions on independent expenditures on behalf of the presidential campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama and millions more on Senate and Congressional races, new survey research findings warn that support for Big Labor's agenda, including their number 1 priority--the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)--could spell trouble for candidates in close races on Election Day," according to The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), a group of some 500 employer and business groups that have coalesced in a joint effort to defeat the measure.
Announcing the results of CDW-sponsored surveys in three states, the group said nearly two-thirds of voters in Colorado (68 percent), Maine (72 percent) and Minnesota (65 percent) indicated they oppose the EFCA. At least 80 percent of voters in all three states told pollsters they believed that secret ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be kept for union elections.
Among the questions asked of general election voters during March by pollsters McLaughlin & Associates, commissioned by CDW:
Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Secret and private ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be kept for union elections"
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 and private ballot election where workers privately vote yes or no on whether to authorize union representation?
Should federal laws be changed by Congress to make it much easier for unions to hold elections in nonunion work places to organize more workers into unions or should the laws be left the way they are now?
In addition, voters in Minnesota and Colorado indicated they would be less likely to support candidates who support the EFCA. Specifically, a plurality of voters would be less likely to vote for Democratic Senate candidates Mark Udall (44 percent) and Al Franken (41 percent) if they support the legislation.
"It's clear that opposing the private ballot for workers is a political liability for candidates, particularly those running in tight races," said Brian Worth, vice president of the Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc and member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. "Our polling shows that this issue is a potential millstone for candidates who get on the wrong side of voters' rights to privacy and a workplace free from intimidation," Worth added.
For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.
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