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Gallup Conducts Useless Union Organization Poll

By Philip Klein on 3.17.09 @ 5:13PM

The top headline on the Gallup website today reads, "Majority Receptive to Law Making Union Organizing Easier," but it's quite misleading. When you look at the posting in greater depth, it becomes clear that it doesn't mean that a majority of Americans favor card check legislation.

The poll actually asked Americans, "Generally speaking, would you favor or oppose a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers?" In other words, no mention of the fact that the actual legislation being considered would deny workers a secret ballot. In response to this generic question, 53 percent said they favored the law and 39 percent they opposed it.

Gallup concludes that the results "bode well for the pro-union side" of the debate, but I don't think that's true. The reason is that the poll also showed that opposition to the bill grew the more closely respondents said they were following the issue. Among the 12 percent who said they were following the issue "very closely," 58 percent opposed it compared to 40 percent who supported it. There are two possible interpretations for this: either critics of the legislation have been following this issue much more closely than pro-union side, or support for the proposal drops off once people hear more details about it. The latter explanation seems more feasible.

A January Diageo/Hotline poll defined the bill in detail, and found 50 percent opposed it compared to 37 percent who supported it -- almost exactly the reverse of the Gallup findings.

View all comments (6) | Leave a comment

CH| 3.17.09 @ 6:22PM

Baloney. Who authorized this poll, the AFL/CIO?

KJ| 3.17.09 @ 8:24PM

Gets your facts straight. The bill doesn't "deny workers a secret ballot."
It does, however, give workers the choice to either choose a secret ballot (if at least 30 percent of workers indicate they want a vote) or organize by card check.
Current law allows employers to demand a secret ballot or recognize a union if workers simply sign authorization cards. This takes away their say either way.
Explained more clearly: Workers will decide how to organize themselves, not employers.

Starry Night| 3.17.09 @ 9:43PM

Explained more clearly: Unions will decide how workers organize themselves, not workers. And Unions will do it with baseball bats and crowbars: The way all thugs roll.

Gene| 3.17.09 @ 10:34PM

Get real look what the unions did to the big three auto makers , where are they today, begging for hand outs from the taxpayer, look what happened to the steel industry after WWII, same with textiles and the same with various other goods and services,gone overseas for cheaper labor,unions served a good purpose before WWII,not today.

MT| 3.17.09 @ 10:54PM

Teachers' Unions have destroyed our education system. Unions are a disaster.

RLM| 3.18.09 @ 1:14PM

Nobody has really eaplained to me WHY introduce a bill that until Frankin is seated, does NOT have 60 votes to pass? It is STUPID to introduce legislation, place your supporters under the gun, and just leave them hanging out there with no ability to move the legislation off the front burner. If this bill hangs arond till Summer, it will never pass. All Obama can do is offer to any Senator who votes for this bill and is defeated a place in his Aministration or an Ambassador position someplace nice. I don’t think that is enough.

Finally, has anyone considered the legality of forcing private companies into binding arbitration? That portion of the bill almost assures a US Supreme Court decision that the law is an unconstitutional “taking” and it throws the whole thing out. Eliminate that provision and maybe the fence setters will go for the law and if it is going to pass, then either get it done ASAP or pull it and recognize that the Dems leaders are incompetent.