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Employee Free Choice Act National Fight Begins for Bargaining Rights
Federal legislation protecting workers' freedom to form unions and bargain first contracts is being hailed by union leaders as a critical step forward in the fight for workers' rights. It was to be the centerpiece of International Human Rights Day events Dec. 10, as the CWA News went to press.
"It's time, in fact it's way past time, that we demand for workers in America the basic legal, labor and human rights by which we judge other nations around the world: the freedom of association and the freedom to bargain collectively," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who introduced the bipartisan Employee Free Choice Act with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in November.
The lawmakers joined with workers, CWA President Morton Bahr and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Capitol Hill Nov. 13 to unveil the bill, which would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union they can do so without employer harassment and threats. At least 23 senators and 81 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors.
Kennedy noted that union members earn wages 25 percent higher than non-union workers, are four times as likely to have a secure pension plan and 40 percent more likely to have health insurance.
But many employers fight hard to make sure workers don't have the power to demand those benefits. In a two-year period, according to the National Labor Relations Board, 30,000 workers trying to organize were fired for union activities. The legislation calls for stiff penalties in such cases.
"When you say that American workers have the right to organize, it has to be the real right to organize, and that is what this bill is all about," Kennedy said.
Cornell University research shows that 25 percent of private sector employers fire at least one worker during a union organizing campaign, and 90 percent of employers actively exert pressure to keep workers from forming a union. Under current law, an employer can delay and challenge the results of NLRB elections and delay bargaining a first contract indefinitely.
The new legislation would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing a majority through card check. It would provide that if an employer and a union are engaged in bargaining for a first contract and do not reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and that if mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
The bill would provide for mandatory court injunctions against employers for firings, intimidation or other interference with workers' right to organize or while bargaining a first contract, would require employers to pay triple back-pay to workers fired or discriminated against during an organizing campaign, and calls for civil fines up to $20,000 per violation for willful or repeated violations of workers' rights during organizing or first-contract drives.
Bahr gave examples of "high-road" employers who have been successful while respecting workers' right to organize through card check - AT&T and Cingular wireless, Kaleida Health and the state of New Mexico - and he pointed to "low-road" employers whose workers are intimidated or fired for organizing and cannot obtain first contracts, such as Comcast and the Chinese Daily News.
He said union busting has become the nation's "fastest growing industry" and called for workers and communities to rally behind the new legislation. "Support for these bills must be a litmus test in our support for political candidates in the coming political season," he said. "They set the course for the future of the labor movement."
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said the right to bargain collectively is "a fundamental human right. It is a civil right millions of workers have fought for." He invoked the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King's advocacy for striking Memphis sanitation workers and his subsequent assassination.
On Dec. 10, Sweeney said "tens of thousands of workers and their allies across the country will stand up for workers' freedom to choose a union, calling on their elected officials to join with Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Miller and other elected leaders in supporting and co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act."
"It's time, in fact it's way past time, that we demand for workers in America the basic legal, labor and human rights by which we judge other nations around the world: the freedom of association and the freedom to bargain collectively," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who introduced the bipartisan Employee Free Choice Act with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in November.
The lawmakers joined with workers, CWA President Morton Bahr and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Capitol Hill Nov. 13 to unveil the bill, which would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union they can do so without employer harassment and threats. At least 23 senators and 81 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors.
Kennedy noted that union members earn wages 25 percent higher than non-union workers, are four times as likely to have a secure pension plan and 40 percent more likely to have health insurance.
But many employers fight hard to make sure workers don't have the power to demand those benefits. In a two-year period, according to the National Labor Relations Board, 30,000 workers trying to organize were fired for union activities. The legislation calls for stiff penalties in such cases.
"When you say that American workers have the right to organize, it has to be the real right to organize, and that is what this bill is all about," Kennedy said.
Cornell University research shows that 25 percent of private sector employers fire at least one worker during a union organizing campaign, and 90 percent of employers actively exert pressure to keep workers from forming a union. Under current law, an employer can delay and challenge the results of NLRB elections and delay bargaining a first contract indefinitely.
The new legislation would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing a majority through card check. It would provide that if an employer and a union are engaged in bargaining for a first contract and do not reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and that if mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
The bill would provide for mandatory court injunctions against employers for firings, intimidation or other interference with workers' right to organize or while bargaining a first contract, would require employers to pay triple back-pay to workers fired or discriminated against during an organizing campaign, and calls for civil fines up to $20,000 per violation for willful or repeated violations of workers' rights during organizing or first-contract drives.
Bahr gave examples of "high-road" employers who have been successful while respecting workers' right to organize through card check - AT&T and Cingular wireless, Kaleida Health and the state of New Mexico - and he pointed to "low-road" employers whose workers are intimidated or fired for organizing and cannot obtain first contracts, such as Comcast and the Chinese Daily News.
He said union busting has become the nation's "fastest growing industry" and called for workers and communities to rally behind the new legislation. "Support for these bills must be a litmus test in our support for political candidates in the coming political season," he said. "They set the course for the future of the labor movement."
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said the right to bargain collectively is "a fundamental human right. It is a civil right millions of workers have fought for." He invoked the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King's advocacy for striking Memphis sanitation workers and his subsequent assassination.
On Dec. 10, Sweeney said "tens of thousands of workers and their allies across the country will stand up for workers' freedom to choose a union, calling on their elected officials to join with Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Miller and other elected leaders in supporting and co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act."