Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Fresh Start for Employee Free Choice Act
Joined by CWA workers and others, lawmakers of both major parties on April 19 announced they were reintroducing in the 109th Congress a bill to protect workers' freedom to form unions and stop employers from interfering with that basic right.
The Employee Free Choice Act was first introduced in the 108th Congress but never came to the floor for a vote. Thirty-six senators and 123 representatives immediately joined the new legislation as co-sponsors, and CWA, the AFL-CIO and other backers launched an e-mail letter-writing campaign to win more.
The principal sponsors of the new bill, 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 presented their stories and met with senators and representatives from their home states to tell them about employer opposition they faced in their quests for union representation.
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) appeared together, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for the new legislation. The Employee Free Choice Act would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they can do so without the debilitating obstacles employers now use to block workers' free choice.
"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," said Sweeney.
"Workers in this country should be assured better wages and working conditions, and have the ability to secure union representation without fear of losing their jobs," Kennedy said. "America's workers deserve to have their voices heard, and we must strengthen current laws to reflect that right."
CWA's Bahr applauded the courage of John Pezzana, a CWA headend technician at Comcast in the Pittsburgh area, whose formerly AT&T Broadband unit - after winning three representation elections - is still fighting for a contract; Clyde Rucker, a senior customer service representative fired from Verizon Wireless in Laurel, Md., for attempting to organize, and other workers who told of numerous captive audience meetings, threats by management to close their work locations and other forms of union-busting 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 contracts, continues to try to rid itself of the union.
Rucker told how Verizon Wireless violated Verizon's neutrality agreement with CWA by holding captive audience meetings and launching an anti-union website. Though other workers became afraid, Rucker continued to speak out.
"Unions built America. People have died for that," he said. He was fired for being away from his station during a period of inactivity, when similar behavior by workers who were not union advocates was tolerated or even ignored.
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing majority support 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; if mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
It 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. The bill would require employers to pay triple back pay to workers fired or discriminated against during an organizing campaign, and it calls for civil fines up to $20,000 per violation for willful or repeated violations of workers' rights during organizing or first contract drives.
Within 24 hours of the new legislation's introduction, e-mails went out from CWA, the AFL-CIO and American Rights at Work, the watchdog and advocacy group headed by former Michigan congressman David Bonior, asking members to send e-mails to their senators and representative, asking them to sign on to the bills.
To participate in CWA's e-activist campaign, visit the website at ga.cwa-union.org. On the right hand side of the home page, under "What's Hot," click on the appeal to "Take Action! Help 57 Million Workers Gain a Union."
The Employee Free Choice Act was first introduced in the 108th Congress but never came to the floor for a vote. Thirty-six senators and 123 representatives immediately joined the new legislation as co-sponsors, and CWA, the AFL-CIO and other backers launched an e-mail letter-writing campaign to win more.
The principal sponsors of the new bill, 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 presented their stories and met with senators and representatives from their home states to tell them about employer opposition they faced in their quests for union representation.
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) appeared together, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for the new legislation. The Employee Free Choice Act would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they can do so without the debilitating obstacles employers now use to block workers' free choice.
"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," said Sweeney.
"Workers in this country should be assured better wages and working conditions, and have the ability to secure union representation without fear of losing their jobs," Kennedy said. "America's workers deserve to have their voices heard, and we must strengthen current laws to reflect that right."
CWA's Bahr applauded the courage of John Pezzana, a CWA headend technician at Comcast in the Pittsburgh area, whose formerly AT&T Broadband unit - after winning three representation elections - is still fighting for a contract; Clyde Rucker, a senior customer service representative fired from Verizon Wireless in Laurel, Md., for attempting to organize, and other workers who told of numerous captive audience meetings, threats by management to close their work locations and other forms of union-busting 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 contracts, continues to try to rid itself of the union.
Rucker told how Verizon Wireless violated Verizon's neutrality agreement with CWA by holding captive audience meetings and launching an anti-union website. Though other workers became afraid, Rucker continued to speak out.
"Unions built America. People have died for that," he said. He was fired for being away from his station during a period of inactivity, when similar behavior by workers who were not union advocates was tolerated or even ignored.
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to choose to form a union by showing majority support 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; if mediation is unsuccessful after 30 days, the FMCS may refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
It 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. The bill would require employers to pay triple back pay to workers fired or discriminated against during an organizing campaign, and it calls for civil fines up to $20,000 per violation for willful or repeated violations of workers' rights during organizing or first contract drives.
Within 24 hours of the new legislation's introduction, e-mails went out from CWA, the AFL-CIO and American Rights at Work, the watchdog and advocacy group headed by former Michigan congressman David Bonior, asking members to send e-mails to their senators and representative, asking them to sign on to the bills.
To participate in CWA's e-activist campaign, visit the website at ga.cwa-union.org. On the right hand side of the home page, under "What's Hot," click on the appeal to "Take Action! Help 57 Million Workers Gain a Union."