A couple of articles continue to perpetuate a GOP lie which might undo some Democrats.
Maine has been targeted because of the expected Senate race between Representative Tom Allen (D-Maine) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). They are on opposite sides of "The Employee Free Choice Act."
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This is in the boring details of labor law, but the truth usually is a sleeper compared to a good scary lie. As Forbes says, "Who's afraid of a little organized labor? U.S. business, that's who."
The scary lie: Democrats want to eliminate secret ballot elections for union elections.
The boring truth: The Employee Free Choice Act does not change current labor law regarding secret ballots and majority card check.
Current labor law uses secret ballots to elect unions when a majority does not sign a declaration to the Labor Board. If a majority of employees declare by signature that they want a union, the Labor Board doesn't hold a superfluous election to see if there is a majority.
If an employee says he was illegally coerced to sign a card, the Labor Board will investigate and if coercion is found, the card check election will be invalidated.
More from Forbes:
Labor issues do seem to be front and center this election season. Obama said he would consider renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement to keep more American jobs from being outsourced. Democrats in Congress have been firm about ensuring that labor clauses are part of international trade agreements, some of which are still pending. Labor disputes were reportedly part of what derailed merger discussions last week between UAL (nasdaq: UAUA - news - people ) and US Airways Group (nyse: LCC - news - people ). SEIU has waged a highly public campaign to close tax loopholes on so-called "buyout billionaires"--private equity and hedge fund managers.
Teamsters spokesman Galen Munroe says, "It's pretty much accepted that Americans want change after the Bush administration," adding that the Employee Free Choice Act, designed to make it easier for workers to choose a union, would help strengthen the middle class. The measure didn't make it out of the Senate last year, but Obama has vowed to revive it if elected.
That's exactly what the chamber and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, an alliance of local chambers of commerce and other business associations, fear. The groups say that because the bill would do away with the secret ballot voting that allows employees to choose a union, it would pressure individual workers to sign on. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, opposes the bill.
http://www.forbes.com/...