Employee Free Choice Act

[TeknoDave]

Many may not realize, but until recently, I held a Union job here in the States. I would hope that many of you on here have a Union job yourself, or have a friend or loved one that works in a Union.

Unions are what built up the middle class, and the path that we have gone down over the past decade has decimated the number of working citizens have Union protection. You get better wages, better benefits, and most importantly, better protection. You can not be fired without just cause. If you do get fired, the Union will step in and fight for your right to get your job back.

This is what is happening to me right now. This is why this is really important to me, and should be important to others. Below is some more information about the Employee Free Chioce Act. Senator Obama (and Clinton, when she was still running for the Democratic nomination) pledged that they support the Employee Free Choice Act and will have it passed within their first 100 days when elected into office. There are several countries out there that have more than half their workforce working a Union job. The United States, which was the driving force for Unions, is in the teens, down from over 35%, most of which is public sector work. That is pitiful. The more Union jobs that were lost, the worse the economy got, and people started losing their homes. Over 80% of the workforce in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, France and Belgium...BELGIUM!!...have citizens working Union jobs. And we are about 12 percent?! Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

I will step off the soapbox for right now (gotta get some shuteye) but read for yourself. Contact your local politicians and push that they support the Employee Free Choice Act.

And please do not hesitate to contact me if you want to discuss it further in private!

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The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is a longstanding American value. It has so helped build a strong middle class and a strong nation, that it is a now principle enshrined in international agreements. It is a core standard that the United States uses to measure adherence to democratic norms throughout the world.

Yet across America, workers are being stripped of this basic freedom.

Each year, more than 20,000 workers are illegally fired or discriminated against for exercising attempting to organize. Many employers make an art of it - hiring union busting "consultants" to help defeat organizing drives. And even if employees overcome all the odds, in one-third of all union election victories, workers still do not have a collective bargaining agreement two years after the election.


42 million workers who are not in a union have say they would like to be represented by one. 42 million workers - more than three times the number of workers presently represented by unions in the United States. 42 million workers who are unable to exercise their rights.

It is in the name of those workers that CWA is fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act. EFCA provides for the certification of a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finds that a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit have signed written forms designating the union as its collective bargaining agent

EFCA also speeds along the process of bargaining between employer and employees for their first contract by obligating both parties to reach an agreement, through escalating procedures of mediation and arbitration, if necessary.

EFCA requires stronger penalties against employers for engaging in unfair labor practices while employees are attempting to organize or obtain a first contract. The bill mandates that the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that the employer has discharged employees or discriminated against them or engaged in conduct that interferes significantly with employee rights during an organizing campaign or bargaining for a first contract.

The Act also mandates an award of three times the amount of back pay for illegal discrimination that occurs during efforts to organize or when workers are seeking a first contract. The legislation provides for penalties up to $20,000 per violation against employers found to have willfully or repeatedly violated workers' rights during an organizing campaign or pursuit of a first contract.

At the very minimum, American workers should be free to decide whether they want union representation without experiencing intimidation, indoctrination or misinformation.

Enactment of EFCA would help ensure that workers can exercise the basic human right to organize freely and bargain collectively.

Important Graphs that illustrate the point :::
http://www.cwa-union.org/efca/assets...inequality.jpg
http://www.cwa-union.org/efca/assets...comparison.jpg