Leading members of the U.S. Senate and House today introduced legislation that would help enable workers to bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions by restoring their rights to form unions.
Strengthening America's Middle Class by Helping Workers Bargain for a Better Life »
Myth vs. Fact »
Worker After Worker Explains Why EFCA Is So Important »
Worker Rights Under Attack »
“The current crisis has shown us the dangers of an economy that leaves working families behind. The people who work in our factories, build our roads, and care for our children are the backbone of this great nation. The Employee Free Choice Act will give these hardworking men and women a greater voice in the decisions that affect their families and their futures. It’s a critical step toward putting our economy back on track, and I hope that we can act quickly to send it to the President’s desk," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.About the Employee Free Choice Act »
“Just as the National Labor Relations Act, the 40 hour week and the minimum wage helped to pull us out of the Great Depression and into a period of unprecedented prosperity, so too will the Employee Free Choice Act help reinvigorate our economy,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “Today is one of those defining moments in history as we introduce legislation that puts power back into the hands of the people who are truly the backbone of this economy.”
“Americans’ wages have been stagnating or falling for the past decade. For far too long, we have seen corporate CEOs take care of themselves and shareholders at the expense of workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “If we want a fair and sustainable recovery from this economic crisis, we must give workers the ability to stand up for themselves and once again share in the prosperity they help to create.”
Strengthening America's Middle Class by Helping Workers Bargain for a Better Life »
Myth vs. Fact »
Worker After Worker Explains Why EFCA Is So Important »
Worker Rights Under Attack »
This bill will "legalize" intimadation by Unions. I have had PERSONAL experience with late night visit by Union reps to "encourage" be to vote pro-union. While this was 30 years ago, that late night visit is still a vivid memory of how the Union told me "they" could help me or HURT me !
I STRONGLY urge the vote against this bill !!!
As we note on this page, workers report much less coercion and pressure from all sides when workers form a union through a majority sign-up process rather than with NLRB elections. This is why all workers should have access to this process, if they so choose, regardless of the CEO's opinion.