Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions’ purpose and power. Currently, 41% say they have a favorable opinion of labor unions while about as many (42%) express an unfavorable opinion. In January 2007, a clear majority (58%) had a favorable view of unions while just 31% had an unfavorable impression.

Some numbers to chew on:

The latest comes courtesy of our colleagues at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and their poll shows:

• In the poll, 61% of respondents said that EFCA would cause more companies to expand abroad as opposed to creating jobs in America.
• Sixty five percent also said that EFCA should not be attached to a “jobs bill,” but instead be considered separately.
• More than half (54%) of voters surveyed said they would be more likely to oppose a generic candidate who voted in favor of EFCA in 2010.

More info here.

The Journal takes a look at what this means for card check:

Signs that unions can’t deliver rank-and-file votes present another challenge for labor leaders trying to salvage their legislative priorities, including a bill that would make it easier for them to organize workers and win initial labor contracts from employers through arbitration. AFL-CIO lobbyist Bill Samuel said the union still holds out hope for the Employee Free Choice Act, which was stalled in the Senate before Mr. Brown’s election.

“We don’t see it being dead,” he said. “We’re obviously reallocating our strategy and the timing,” he said.

Mr. Samuel still expects a vote on the bill to occur this year, he said. “That’s our plan.”

Card check and EFCA have been the “plan” for several years for top labor officials, but the opposition by union households has been there too.

This month new polling showed that 66 percent of union households oppose changing the bargaining process in unionization, which EFCA would do; 51 percent of union households oppose changing the way unions are formed, which EFCA would do; and 77 percent of all voters, as well as 77 percent of union households oppose a government arbitrator having the final say in determining contract terms, which EFCA would do.

This isn’t terribly surprising or new. Polling from early 2009 showed that 85% of union households favor having a federally supervised election as a means to

• 66 percent of union households oppose changing the bargaining process in unionization, which EFCA would do.
• 51 percent of union households oppose changing the way unions are formed, which EFCA would do.
• 77 percent of all voters, as well as 77 percent of union households oppose a government arbitrator having the final say in determining contract terms, which EFCA would do.

Check out the poll over at WFI’s website, and click here to see a history of polling we’ve highlighted.

That’s the word from The Hill’s Mike O’Brien, who continues:

The Colorado Democrat’s reelection prospects could hinge on two key issues, though: the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and healthcare reform legislation.

When read a description of EFCA, 66 percent of Coloradans said they’d prefer a candidate who would vote against the union organizing bill, compared to 29 percent who said they would prefer a candidate who supports the ‘card check’ bill.

When read description of key components of the bill, the card check provision and the binding arbitration provision, almost 2/3rds of voters expressed disapproval in the poll, which was commissioned by the anti-EFCA Workforce Fairness Institute and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies.

This is just the latest example of voters clearly signaling their displeasure with EFCA. Virginia‘s gubernatorial victor was incontrovertible evidence, and this year we’ve heard similar tales from Kansas, Nevada, and now Colorado.

When will our elected leaders start listening? When they’re un-elected?

The poll showed 57 percent of respondents oppose changing the way unions are organized and 64 percent oppose allowing mandatory arbitration to settle organizational disputes between workers and managers, as is proposed under the bill.

The poll also showed more voters would be less likely to support political candidates who support such changes.

The second figure — the one showing opposition to allowing the government to impose labor contracts on small business — is important because it shows that even if card check were dropped from EFCA, the bill would still be disastrous and unpopular.

Nevadans — well, most of them — know that EFCA is the wrong way to go. Check out this video from the state’s own Sen. John Ensign on why he opposes the Employee Free Choice Act.

It’s a how-to guide for avoiding the real point of the Employee Free Choice Act and card check … wait, strike that. SEIU’s minions are told not to use the term “card check” (it’s toxic, after all).

Instead, they are instructed to use the old gem “majority sign-up.” And don’t dare mention the secret ballot or private ballot system that currently protects employees — try to bend facts (or avoid them) to describe a “company-dominated system.” And for goodness sake, don’t say “Our union or labor is behind this bill” … that would be too honest! Blame it on “workers” or “working people. Likewise, don’t say EFCA is about making it “easier for unions to organize workers.”

All this may not be surprising, but the extent to which SEIU wants to avoid discussing the union role in EFCA is remarkable. The flyer instructs spokespeople not to discuss the “process or conflict” of organizing and avoid the normal “tone that sounds angry, demagogues CEOs, or over-generalizes about business.” Instead, there’s suggested obfuscatory claptrap.

The document is likely a reflection of organized labor’s plummeting popularity with Americans. See a collection of public opinion polls here. We’re tempted to make a reference to Orwell, but he’s not the one spinning here — that’s SEIU.

Here are some interesting findings that ought to inform legislators:

A majority of respondents said they favored some clauses that could be added to the bill, such as a provision applying the same increased penalties to union organizers who break workplace unionization rules as are currently applied to companies breaking such rules in the proposed bill, according to results.

But majorities of more than 70 percent opposed other potential additions to the bill, such as a ban on employer meetings to discuss unionization or a requirement that unions be allowed into the workplace to conduct organizing campaigns. Seventy-four percent of Colorado respondents opposed the card-check provision at the center of the bill, the survey said.

The final toll: people only want EFCA if it is not at all EFCA. They want it to be fair and penalize bad behavior, but not enact a per se penalty on employer speech. And, of course, card check is still a massive loser.