Some Myths about the Employee Free Choice Act

Sen. Collins uses same talking points and backs up lies of Union Busting group "Union Facts" It is outrageous that Senator Collins’s office issued a written statement using the exact same deceptive language as the Center for Union Facts (the recent anti union ads blanketting Maine) in misrepresenting the Employee Free Choice Act. Collins is showing her true colors and she's either choosing to so grossly mislead the Maine people on such an important piece of legislation or simply doesn’t understand it and uses the spin of Richard Berman’s anti-union front group. Senator Collins owes the Maine people an explanation on her misrepresentation of this important piece of legislation. She must also denounce the sleazy, deceitful ads of all the Berman front groups that are getting involved in Maine (Center for Union Facts, Employee Freedom Action Committee, etc.) The Center for Union Facts misrepresents the Employee Free Choice act to equate it with electing people to office. Their ad depicting classroom elections for school officers is deceptive as it states that this is exactly what unions want to do with the Employee Free Choice Act. The Employee Free Choice act is about forming unions, not about how to elect union officers. Unions in America elect officers by way of healthy democratic processes. No-one is advocating to change that. The question is: what is the best process to form a union in the first place. It is important to note that no – one voted on whether or not we should have a Maine legislature or a U.S. Congress, our votes are to elect the representatives. This is a very, very different process. In response to the EMLC press conference on Thursday, the Washington D.C. based Center for Union Facts’ managing director J. Justin Wilson told WLBZ: "In organizing elections people go and have a vote, just like election day in Maine," Wilson explained. "They want to switch to a system where a union organizer approaches you at your house and say sign this contract and theydon't even show you the fine print." Senator Collins is against the legislation, Felicia Knight, Collins' DeputyCampaign Manager issued a written statement addressing the ads."Senator Collins' campaign has nothing to do with these ads, which are currently airing in several media markets around the country. On the issue, Senator Collins strongly believes that all workers are entitled to their long-standing right to a secret ballot. It is ironic that a public servant, elected by a secret ballot, would vote to deny union employees the same right." Brewer: Union head slams ads By Eric Russell Saturday, June 07, 2008 - Bangor Daily News BREWER, Maine — Local union representatives are hitting back at a national nonprofit agency that has been running targeted television advertisements, including some in Maine markets, slamming labor practices. Jack McKay, president of the Eastern Maine Labor Council, said the Center for Union Facts of Washington, D.C., claims to support workers’ rights but "everything they do undermines workers." "The biggest thing, I think, is that these ads are deceitful and they misrepresent what unions are asking for," McKay said Friday of the ads, which ran on local NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates in recent weeks but have since stopped. "Truthfully, they know what we want and they are deliberately misrepresenting that." One of the ads in question portrays children voting in a class election and then depicts union bosses hijacking the process. The ad campaign is centered on the Employee Free Choice Act, a piece of legislation that has been supported by the U.S. House but has yet to make it through the Senate. Union supporters and many Democrats are in favor of the bill, but Republicans have generally opposed it. The Center for Union Facts claims the Employee Free Choice Act would strip workers of their right to vote privately when forming a union. McKay said unions have always conducted their elections in the open and will continue to do so. The reason the ads have flooded the Maine market is because of the contested Senate race between Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who have differing views on the Employee Free Choice Act. McKay said the ads are particularly outrageous because the Center for Union Facts is little more than a nonprofit arm of Berman Associates, a powerful Washington lobbying firm. McKay said its founder, Richard Berman, has represented interests of the tobacco and fast food industries. Center for Union Facts managing director J. Justin Wilson issued the following statement regarding the group’s advertising campaign in Maine: "Union bosses are the ones with a long history of corruption, deception, and mismanagement. Given that, we think Mainers should be especially concerned with their deceitful attempt to eliminate workers’ fundamental right to a private-ballot election when unionizing." McKay said his first instinct was to ignore the ads, but he wants the public to have both sides. "It was important for us to come out and denounce these ads because they received so much air time," he said. "And I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of them."