Ads favor bill to make unionizing easier

ST. PAUL (AP) — A labor advocacy group will begin airing $5 million worth of ads today on national cable and in targeted states to press for legislation that would allow workers to organize without secret ballot elections.

The ads, to launch on Labor Day by American Rights at Work, do not name either presidential candidate, but the message of economic hardship dovetails with Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s campaign themes. The national ads will appear on CNN, MSNBC and CNN Headline News.

The ads also will appear in states with vulnerable Republican senators — New Hampshire, Maine, Alaska, Minnesota and Oregon. The ads, expected to air at least four weeks, urge viewers to call the senators to demand their support for the legislation.

American Rights at Work is a 501(c)3 organization.

The legislation, a top priority for organized labor, would require employers to recognize unions after being presented union cards signed by a majority of eligible workers on their payrolls. Under current labor law, a company can demand a secret ballot election supervised by the federal government after being presented the union cards.

The Senate last year blocked an effort to pass the legislation; the House approved it in March 2007.

The ad portrays a well-dressed, heavyset businessman seesawing with a worker and losing his advantage as more workers outweigh him.

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a group backed by chambers of commerce, business groups and conservative organizations, has been campaigning against the legislation with its own ads in key states.

———

On the Net:

Employee Free Choice Act: www.FreeChoiceAct.org