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Free Market, Free Choice: Labor, Lawmakers Blast Union-Busting, Call for Organizing Rights: Employee
Lawmakers from both parties have introduced new bills to protect workers' freedom to form unions and stop employers from interfering.
The Employee Free Choice Act, first introduced two years ago, never came to the floor for a vote in the 108th Congress.
This time around, 36 senators and 123 members of the House of Representatives quickly signed on to the new legislation. Meanwhile, CWA, the AFL-CIO and other backers launched an e-mail campaign to ask others to co-sign.
The chief sponsors of S.842 in the Senate and H.R. 1696 in the House were joined at a Capitol Hill news briefing by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, CWA President Morton Bahr and six workers who told their stories of trying to build a union in a climate of intense employer opposition.
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) appeared together at the event, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for the legislation.
The act would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they can do so without the obstacles employers routinely use to stop workers' from exercising their freedom to organize.
"It is a moral outrage that every 23 minutes a worker in this country is discriminated against for trying to improve his or her life through unions," Sweeney said.
Kennedy said workers must have the right to stand together for better wages and working conditions without fear of losing their jobs. "America's workers deserve to have their voices heard, and we must strengthen current laws to reflect that right," he said.
Fighting Back
Bahr applauded the courage of workers such as John Pezzana, a Pittsburgh-area Comcast technician whose unit—after winning three representation elections—is still fighting for a contract, and Clyde Rucker, a senior customer service representative fired from Verizon Wireless in Laurel, Md., for attempting to organize. The two men and other speakers told of numerous captive audience meetings, threats by management to close their worksites and other forms of intimidation.
"It's because of the struggles of workers such as you just heard that ultimately we will prevail," Bahr said.
Elaborating on one company's duplicity, he added, "At the time Comcast bought AT&T Broadband, Comcast told Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, 'Don't oppose us in the merger and you will get contracts.' That's how much you can trust Comcast."
That was three years ago, and Comcast, instead of bargaining, continues to build a reputation as bad as Wal-Mart's when it comes to union-busting.
Rucker told how Verizon Wireless violated parent company Verizon's neutrality agreement with CWA by holding captive audience meetings and launching an anti-union website. Though other workers became afraid, he continued to speak out.
"Unions built America. People have died for that," said Rucker, who was fired for being away from his station during a period of inactivity. Similar behavior by workers who were not union advocates was tolerated or even ignored.
Better Labor Law
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing majority support through card check. Further, if an employer and a union engage in bargaining for a first contract and don't reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
It also would provide for mandatory court injunctions against employers for firings, intimidation or other interference with workers' right to organize or bargain, 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.
Within 24 hours of the new legislation's introduction, e-mails went out from unions and American Rights at Work asking members to e-mail to their senators and representatives, asking them to sign on to the bills.
To participate in the e-activist campaign, visit the website at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/support_EFCA_cwa.
The Employee Free Choice Act, first introduced two years ago, never came to the floor for a vote in the 108th Congress.
This time around, 36 senators and 123 members of the House of Representatives quickly signed on to the new legislation. Meanwhile, CWA, the AFL-CIO and other backers launched an e-mail campaign to ask others to co-sign.
The chief sponsors of S.842 in the Senate and H.R. 1696 in the House were joined at a Capitol Hill news briefing by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, CWA President Morton Bahr and six workers who told their stories of trying to build a union in a climate of intense employer opposition.
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) appeared together at the event, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for the legislation.
The act would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they can do so without the obstacles employers routinely use to stop workers' from exercising their freedom to organize.
"It is a moral outrage that every 23 minutes a worker in this country is discriminated against for trying to improve his or her life through unions," Sweeney said.
Kennedy said workers must have the right to stand together for better wages and working conditions without fear of losing their jobs. "America's workers deserve to have their voices heard, and we must strengthen current laws to reflect that right," he said.
Fighting Back
Bahr applauded the courage of workers such as John Pezzana, a Pittsburgh-area Comcast technician whose unit—after winning three representation elections—is still fighting for a contract, and Clyde Rucker, a senior customer service representative fired from Verizon Wireless in Laurel, Md., for attempting to organize. The two men and other speakers told of numerous captive audience meetings, threats by management to close their worksites and other forms of intimidation.
"It's because of the struggles of workers such as you just heard that ultimately we will prevail," Bahr said.
Elaborating on one company's duplicity, he added, "At the time Comcast bought AT&T Broadband, Comcast told Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, 'Don't oppose us in the merger and you will get contracts.' That's how much you can trust Comcast."
That was three years ago, and Comcast, instead of bargaining, continues to build a reputation as bad as Wal-Mart's when it comes to union-busting.
Rucker told how Verizon Wireless violated parent company Verizon's neutrality agreement with CWA by holding captive audience meetings and launching an anti-union website. Though other workers became afraid, he continued to speak out.
"Unions built America. People have died for that," said Rucker, who was fired for being away from his station during a period of inactivity. Similar behavior by workers who were not union advocates was tolerated or even ignored.
Better Labor Law
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing majority support through card check. Further, if an employer and a union engage in bargaining for a first contract and don't reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
It also would provide for mandatory court injunctions against employers for firings, intimidation or other interference with workers' right to organize or bargain, 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.
Within 24 hours of the new legislation's introduction, e-mails went out from unions and American Rights at Work asking members to e-mail to their senators and representatives, asking them to sign on to the bills.
To participate in the e-activist campaign, visit the website at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/support_EFCA_cwa.