Miller Canfield, Employment Law Alliance Reveal Results of National Survey
The vast majority of Americans believe they cannot trust Corporate America, including its top executives, to help stabilize the nation’s highly volatile economy or restore industry confidence, according to the latest "America At Work" poll released by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), the world’s largest network of employment and labor lawyers, to which Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. belongs.
Conducted within the past two weeks, 1,000 American men and women were asked who they trust to help reverse the current crisis in both the economy and in Corporate America, and what specific actions they believe can have a positive impact. Here are some of the poll’s key findings:
- 53% said they have little trust in corporate executives to solve the problems
- 35% said they have little trust in the legal system to help solve the problems
- 35% expressed little hope in labor unions to help solve the problems
- 34% said they have little trust in government to fix the problems
- 30% said they had little trust in independent auditors
"The poll revealed high levels of mistrust, anxiety and frustration directed to the corporate sector. The highest level of trust was in the government to help cure the problem, but that was expressed by only 18% of those surveyed." said Stephen J. Hirschfeld, Esq., founder and Chief Executive Officer of ELA. "Non-union employers should pay particular attention to results indicating that the American people have twice as much faith in labor unions as they do in corporations to help restore confidence."
"Organization leaders need to work closely with employment lawyers to develop lawful and effective employee communication programs," said Tom Hustoles of Miller Canfield’s Labor and Employment Group. "Having the Human Resources Department play a more active and visible role within the organization will help restore employee and shareholder confidence, while opening the door to future communication."
Besides asking who they trust to solve the problems, Americans were asked what specific actions they favor to reverse the current crisis in the economy and corporate leadership. Again, their responses were revealing:
- 73% said there should be mandatory representation of rank-and-file workers on corporate boards
- 58% supported unions organizing workers in more companies to ensure they are better protected
- 84% said employee pension funds should force corporations to become more accountable
- 79% said new laws are needed to prevent corporate abuses
- 75% said the federal government needs to be more aggressive in its oversight of businesses
"Labor Unions have a lot to feel positive about on this Labor Day," commented Dr. Theodore Reed, survey director of the "America At Work" poll. "Unions are held in comparatively high esteem on the trust factor and, because of the size of union pension funds, they would benefit greatly if pension funds were to exert more influence over the companies in which they invested."
The Employment Law Alliance is the largest integrated, global practice network comprised of premier, independent law firms distinguished for their practice in employment and labor law. There are member firms in every jurisdiction in the United States and major cities throughout the world. Other recent ELA-sponsored "America At Work" public opinion surveys have focused on the impact of the technology-driven, 24-hour workplace, attitudes toward violence in the workplace and romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates. Visit www.employmentlawalliance.com.
Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the 300-attorney law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., has offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, Troy, Pensacola, Florida; Washington, D.C.; New York City; Windsor, Ontario; and in Gdynia, Katowice, and Warsaw, Poland. Visit www.millercanfield.com .