Business groups woo Dems

Business groups have targeted two Democratic senators who are undecided on the biggest labor-business fight in years with radio and television ads asking them to oppose a bill backed by unions.

The advertising campaign by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace targets Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), who are among four Democratic senators who are not cosponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill, already approved by the House, is organized labor’s No. 1 legislative priority.

{mosads}The television ads ask viewers to call Nelson and Pryor and “tell them to protect workers and protect private ballots in the workplace.”

The group also is running radio ads in Maine thanking Republican Sen. Susan Collins for fighting against the bill and urging her to continue to do so. Collins and fellow Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe are both seen as potential swing votes on the issue.

The bill would make it easier to form unions by repealing a requirement that workers use a secret ballot when voting on whether to unionize. If the bill became law, workers could form unions if a majority of employees sign cards designating a labor group as their bargaining representative.

Pryor and Collins are both up for reelection in 2008, and Pryor’s reelection bid played into the coalition’s decision to run ads targeting him instead of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), another potential swing vote who is not a sponsor of the bill. A business source said the coalition calculated that if Pryor decides to vote against the bill, Lincoln will as well, as a way of offering support for Pryor.

Arkansas, Nebraska and Maine also are all relatively inexpensive states to advertise in, compared to Colorado, home to Sen. Ken Salazar, the fourth Democrat who is not a current sponsor, the business source said.