New Poll: Union Members Oppose Big Labor's Card Check

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new national survey of voters released today by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) shows opposition coming from an unlikely source - union households. A special polling oversample of 400 union households shows both union members and all voters strongly opposing The Employee Free Choice Act, often called the "card check" bill.

The findings indicate widespread concern among both voters and union households about this legislation that threatens secret ballots, worker privacy and job growth. Both voters and union members tell pollsters that Congress should focus on other more important issues and put Big Labor's agenda aside.

"The strong opposition from current union members to the Employee Free Choice Act should send a clear signal to President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress that the EFCA lacks popular support, both among a key Democratic constituency and voters as a whole," said Brian Worth with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. "The only support card check has is among the leaders of Big Labor."

The poll was conducted by nationally respected polling firm of McLaughlin & Associates. It surveyed 1,000 likely voters with a sub-sample of 400 union households. The poll was conducted from January 7 to 11, 2009.

Key findings of the poll include:

-- Three out of four voters (74%) oppose the "The Employee Free Choice
Act." Union households also strongly oppose the Employee Free Choice
Act, 74% oppose to only 20% support.
-- When given a more detailed description of the Employee Free Choice
Act, nearly 9 out of 10 voters, 86%, feel the process should remain
private and only 8% feel it should be public information. Again, even
union workers feel strongly that the process should be kept private,
as 88% said private and only 8% said public.
-- Four out of five voters, or 82%, favor having a federally supervised
election as a means to "protect the individual rights of workers."
The voters clearly see this as a basic right, especially given that
only 11% of voters feel the card check would be the best way to
protect the individual rights of workers. Support increases to 85%
among union households.
-- The majority (52% to 26%) of American voters believe that the Employee
Free Choice Act is not good for job creation. Even among union
households, the plurality (48%) believes that the Employee Free Choice
Act will cost America jobs.
-- In the current economic climate, 52% of voters are particularly
opposed to any measure that would risk jobs or job growth.
-- Further exemplifying the electorates' distaste for the Employee Free
Choice Act, 71% agreed that this legislation would be "unwise" and
"risky." In today's economic climate, the electorate has little
confidence in the federal government's ability to make such major
business decisions.


Despite opposition from their own rank and file workers, labor bosses have made support for the EFCA, or "card check" bill, a top priority this year and are pressuring Congress to act quickly to pass it. Unfortunately for Big Labor, 79% of union workers and voters want Congress to focus on other issues like jobs and healthcare.

"Workers aren't fooled by Big Labor's attempt to increase their power at the expense of worker privacy," said Worth.

More information about the poll and CDW's efforts to protect secret ballots and worker privacy can be found at www.MyPrivateBallot.com.

Methodology: This poll of 1,000 likely general election voters in the United States was conducted from January 7th - 11th, 2009 by McLaughlin & Associates. An oversample of 193 union households was conducted, which brings the combined total of union households to 400. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units - in this case, the fifty states. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in a general election. This poll of 1,000 likely general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval. The 400 sample of union households has an accuracy of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval.

Economic Stimulus Package Could Impinge on Americans' Health Privacy

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Before increasing federal spending on health IT, Congress should first fix the already-outdated 1996 HIPAA privacy rule to ensure individuals have control over their personal health information," says Sue A. Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom (IHF). "Right now, the HIPAA privacy rule has too many loopholes to ensure true patient privacy," Blevins stresses.

IHF released the following analyses regarding proposed federal spending on health IT and its impact on health privacy:

What does Barack Obama's economic stimulus package have to do with your health privacy? A lot! If Obama creates electronic medical records for most Americans (as he's proposing) without first fixing the federal health privacy rule (to ensure patient consent), everyone would end up losing control over his or her personal health information. That's because the rule gives many entities the legal authority to share information without patients' consent for purposes related to healthcare treatment, payment, and overseeing the healthcare system. (See "What Every American Needs to Know about the HIPAA Medical Privacy Rule": www.forhealthfreedom.org/Publications/Privacy/PrivacyUpdatedNov2008.html.)

Obama is seeking support for a massive emergency spending package, warning that the U.S. recession could stretch on for years unless such steps are taken. A January 8 Reuters report noted that "Obama also wants to spend to help the healthcare industry create electronic medical records. Well over $100 billion could be spent on the various [electronic medical records] projects." CNNMoney.com reports that Obama's "audacious plan" is to "computerize all health records within five years." Obama would thus be advancing the health IT goals of the Bush administration. Its last budget set access to electronic health records as an objective to be achieved by 2014.

Moreover, the current HIPAA law would govern a nationally linked database. It is important to understand, however, that "HIPAA was never intended for the digital age, because the [1996 HIPAA law] never anticipated the emergence of Web-based records," according to David Brailer, former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

The bottom line is that Obama's spending plans may impinge on your privacy. There's a lot at stake with electronically transferring health data and paying claims within the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry. Concerned Americans should voice their concerns to their members of Congress and to Barack Obama.