We need to get this through without adding bad amendments that strip the value of the bill. Click here to let your representative know how important this issue is.
If you’re not convinced yet, watch the video:
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Filed under: politics, rights, unionism
IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY URGED YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT, CLICK HERE TO TELL YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR WORKING MEN AND WOMEN TO GAIN THE BENEFITS OF SAYING “UNION YES”! (Click here to read more about the EFCA)
“Let’s allow our unions and their organizers to lift up this country’s middle class again…”
-Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama (Click here to watch his presidential candidacy announcement)
The young candidacy of Barack Obama shows a lot of promising signs. One sign that jumps right out at you when you visit his website is how much can be done with web technology. And everything Obama has done on his site can be paralleled on a union (or union-friendly) website. Wouldn’t it be great to see unions stepping into the 21st century and grasping some of the unique advantages of the interactivity the internet offers?
Barack Obama spoke a lot of hopeful words this past weekend in announcing his candidacy in front of the Illinois statehouse. The quote at the top of this posting makes me hopeful that we unionists can make 2008 the year that unions really make a difference in presidential politics. That way we can make even more of a difference in the lives of this country’s working class (click here to see some of the differences we already make).
The number one way to make that happen is to get intimately involved in the effort to elect a president who will be good for labor and the hardworking men and women the labor movement fights for every day. You can start right now. Find out more about a candidate who supports the rights of working people (Click here for a list of current Democratic candidates). Then find ways to support that candidate.
Send some money.
Volunteer your time.
Just share your enthusiasm for someone you believe in.
Do something to help advance the agenda of labor-friendly candidates and causes in the upcoming presidential election. Do something to make the voice of the working people heard by the people running for office. This way you’ll be doing something to mend the cracks in the American economy so that some day no one else will have to slip through them.
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Filed under: 2008 Presidential election, politics, quotables, unionism
House Resolution 800 was introduced the other day on the floor of Congress with wide bi-partisan sponsorship.
Also known as The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), this bill is to “amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.”
In short, it’s intended to restore the American tradition of majority rule to workers deciding whether to join a union. By allowing card check recognition, it will bypass most of the employer-generated intimidation tactics. But it also strengthens measures that must be taken if an employer is guilty of those already illegal tactics.
The Change to Win website has an excellent resource page on the bill. Please check it out. Even more, let your Congressperson know if you support the effort to help millions of other working Americans achieve the same benefits most of us take for granted as union members.
Need to be reminded of what kind of difference being in a union makes? Just take a peek at the chart below:
*image source: EFCA: Helping Workers Secure the American Dream (PDF)
Union workers make thirty percent more! Think about that for a second, and then ask yourself why other workers out there shouldn’t have a right to that kind of compensation. Ask yourself how much healthier our economy would be if more Americans could afford to buy homes and establish a real level of savings. Ask yourself how much better our sense of family values would be if more parents could spend quality time with their families.
Then ask yourself why you haven’t written or called your members of Congress to make sure they know how important this bill is to working people all across this country. (And if you have already done that, are you telling other people about it?) The time to act to improve the lives of all working Americans is now.
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Filed under: politics, rights
