A group that opposes the union-backed Employee Free Choice Act has started airing television advertisements in the Gopher State. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace announced it was airing the spots in the home state of Sen. Norm Coleman (R), who also opposes the initiative and is getting a tough re-election challenge from entertainer Al Franken (D).

The television ads started airing Monday in the Twin Cities, Duluth and Rochester markets, and are intended to educate voters that the EFCA “threatens worker privacy,” according a CDW news release. Although the advertisement does not mention Coleman’s name, a spokeswoman for the group said the spot is part of a larger voter education initiative under way in the state.

EFCA passed through the House, but was blocked in the Senate last year. The legislation would have eliminated secret ballots when workers are deciding whether to unionize and instead replaced them with signature cards.

The coalition started targeting Senators in early 2007, but it recently has focused its efforts on Coleman and the contested Senate race in New Hampshire and plans to expand its efforts into four to eight other states.

“The voters and workers of Minnesota need to know that the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act is not about free choice at all,” CDW spokesman Brian Worth wrote in a statement.