Tom Allen's response to the attack ads

We have to keep getting the message out about the E.F.C.A. Passage of the law will ad protections to employees not take away anything.

Picture the poor woman when the big guy comes along and puts his hand down in a threatening manner. Then picture the real words. "If I see you or hear you supporting a Union, you are fired!" That is the intimidation going on. Don't let Susan Collins ride to another term on lies and her record of being a lap dog for Bush.

Ad	Facts
CLAIM: “Since 2001, one group has been involved in embezzlement and racketeering, and been the target of more than 2000 criminal investigations, and 600 indictments. Now the same group is planning to expand its power base. Who has this record of corruption and embezzlement? Organized Crime? No. It’s organized labor.”	Organized Labor is NOT Organized Crime. There Are 67,000 Union Members in Maine. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there are approximately 67,000 union members in Maine. Union members in Maine make up over 11 percent of Maine’s workforce. [BLS, 2007] Employee Freedom Is Targeting Democrats All Over The Country And Has Already Run Ads in Maine. Employee Freedom Is Affiliated With Center For Union Facts – Both Anti-Labor Groups That Have Been Running Ads In Multiple States. Both anti-labor groups have been running ads in Colorado, Oregon and Maine against Democratic candidates for Senate. [KUSA 9 News, 6/18/08] Employee Freedom Has Launched Similar Negative Partisan Attacks Against Tom Allen. Last month, Employee Freedom ran full page ads in Maine’s largest newspapers attacking Tom Allen for his support of the Employee Free Choice Act. [PolitickerME, 6/12/08]
CLAIM: “Today labor bosses have a new scheme to target you and your money. They want to change the law to make it easier to pressure you into joining their union. Under their plan, you will lose your right to a private vote. Instead of being able to make your choice about joining a union using a private ballot, union bosses can come to your home to pressure you to make a binding decision to pay dues.”	Employee Free Choice Act DOES NOT Eliminate The Secret Ballot. The Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the ballot-election process. The act adds another option, the majority sign-up process, in which workers seeking to form a union could sign cards indicating their desire to do so. Majority sign-up is much faster than the government-run balloting process and leaves less time for employers to harass and intimidate workers so they will back off from joining a union. [HR 800 text of legislation; WCCO CBS 4, Fact Check Segment, 7/9/08] The Employee Free Choice Act Has Bi-Partisan Support In Both The House and Senate. The Employee Free Choice Act has bi-partisan support in the Congress – with 46 co-sponsors in the Senate and 233 Representatives in the House. [HR 800, introduced 2/5/07; S 1041, introduced 3/29/07] Research Shows That 60 Million Americans Would Join A Union If They Could. According to a December 2006 poll, 60 million American workers say they would join a union if they had the option. [AFL-CIO, “The Union Difference: Union Advantage by the Numbers.”]
CLAIM: “Incredibly, they say this is a better process than a private vote.”	Employee Free Choice Act Adds Extra Protection For Workers Seeking To Join A Union. The Employee Free Choice Act would reform the nation’s basic labor laws by requiring employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. It also would provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes and establish stronger penalties for violation of the rights of workers seeking to form unions or negotiate first contracts. [HR 800 text of legislation]
CLAIM: “Tell Tom Allen to stop supporting union schemes to take away private votes at EmployeeFreedom.org.”	Tom Allen Has ALWAYS Supported Protecting The Rights of Workers. Tom Allen Supported Employee Free Choice Act. Tom Allen voted for the Employee Free Choice Act, which required employers to recognize a union if a majority of the employees sign "authorization cards" for the union. The bill eliminated the current right for employers to require an election as a second step before the union could be recognized, thereby easing the ability of unions to organize workers. Unions contended that many employers demand an election in order to have time to coerce workers to reject the union, while employers maintained that only a secret-ballot election can accurately gauge worker support for unionization. The measure also provided for a first labor contract to be imposed through binding arbitration if the employer and union cannot reach agreement within 120 days. [H.R. 800, Vote #118, 3/1/07; CQ House Action Reports Legislative Week February 26, 2007; Associated Press, 3/1/07] Tom Allen Voted To Protect Collective Bargaining and Due Process Rights. In 2004, Tom Allen supported an amendment to the Defense Department funding bill that would have prevented the Pentagon from moving ahead with a plan for a new personnel system aimed at streamlining civil service rules and revamping union bargaining rights. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged rewriting of the department's personnel rules arguing that managers needed more freedom over the pay, discipline and deployment of civilian workers in fighting the war on terrorism. Yet the Bush Administration’s own director of the Office of Personnel Management skewered the plan, warning that it diminishes hiring preferences and other protections for veterans and may go too far in replacing collective bargaining with union consultation. The amendment to stop the plan failed 202-218. [HR 4613, Vote #283, 6/22/04; Washington Post, 6/23/04; Washington Post, 5/17/04] Tom Allen Opposed Bush’s Ability to Deny Homeland Security Employees Right to Unionize. In 2002, Tom Allen voted to give employees the right to unionize if they were included in new homeland security proposal. According to the AFL-CIO, “As part of his homeland security proposal, President George W. Bush insisted on the right to deny collective bargaining rights to the workers slated to become part of the new government department. He threatened to veto any legislation that protected the workers’ current right to unionize. The House passed an amendment to the bill that would expand presidential power to deny employees the right to unionize.” [HR 5005, Vote #358, 7/26/02; 2002 AFL-CIO Scorecard] Tom Allen Voted Against Legislation That Would Allow Employers To Fire Those Who Sought Union Representation. In 1998, Tom Allen voted against legislation that would allow employers to refuse to hire, or fire, those who sought employment to organize workers to join a union. [HR 3246, Vote #78, 3/26/98]

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