Coalition says labor ties could spell trouble for Udall

A new poll released April 1st by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace says that 68% of Colorado voters oppose attempts by unions to do away with a secret ballot in order to unionize the workforce, while 80% of all voters “believe that secret ballot elections are the cornerstone of democracy and should be kept for union elections.”       

That could spell trouble for Democrat Mark Udall, they say, who co-sponsored legislation that, according to the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, would attempt to get rid of the secret ballot in the work place when organizing unions.   

Employee Free Choice Act (HR 800) passed in the US House of Representatives 241-185 on March 1st, 2007. It allows unions to organize by having workers fill out cards rather than holding organizing elections by secret ballot. Proponents say it would make it easier for workers to organize for collective bargaining purposes and enforce stiff penalties on employers who try to intimidate workers who want to join a union. Opponent say it's simply an attempt by unions to intimidate workers into joining unions.  

Colorado's US House delegation voted on EFCA along party lines with the four Democrats voting “aye” and the three Republicans voting “no.”

"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," added Worth.

In addition to the general questions on secret ballots, the poll asked 400 Colorado general election voters whether Udall’s support of “legislation to take away a worker's right to have a federally supervised secret and private ballot election” would make them more or less likely to vote for him. 44% of respondents replied that they’d be less likely to vote for Udall under those circumstances while 13% said they’d be more likely to vote for him. 27% said it would make no difference.

The poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, has a margin of error of +/- 4.9.

The GOP is counting heavily anti-union sentiment to help rally the base and appeal to cross over voters in Colorado.

Last year Republicans lambasted Colorado’s Governor Ritter for unionizing state employees by executive order. Even the Denver Post, generally considered friendly to progressive candidates, editorialized against Ritter’s actions in a rare front page editorial.

Republicans are also mounting a Right-to-Work ballot initiative that challenges the unions’ rights to all-union shops in Colorado.