Fort Collins Now, March 19, 2009, Thursday

Fort Collins Now

March 19, 2009, Thursday

Fort Collins Now

Fried: America is Having Labor Pains Birthing the Employee Free Choice Act

By Eric Fried

Since corporate America has been screaming bloody murder about the Employee Free Choice Act for months, you might be surprised to learn that it was only last week that Congressional Democrats officially re-introduced the bill. Big Business has fixated on the falsehood that the new law will take away employees' rights to a secret ballot union election, but what really terrifies them is knowing the act will level the playing field between American workers and employers. That's why all of us who work for a living have to do all we can to pass Employee Free Choice Act.

As usual, the best way to cut through the hype is to start with the facts. Right now, only about 1 in 8 American workers belongs to a union, down from a peak of 35 percent right after World War II. This is the lowest rate in the industrialized world, which explains why the U.S. also has the biggest gap between rich and poor and the worst health care system among developed nations. Because union workers get better pay, benefits, health care and pensions, declining unionization also explains why inflation-adjusted median family income has been falling for decades. Once enough of the nation's wealth was concentrated in too few hands, it led (as it always does) to a national economic crisis.

Corporate flacks tell us workers are free to join unions now, yet freely choose not to. Oh, really? According to a February 2005 Hart poll, 53 percent of America's nonunion workers wanted a union in their workplace. That's tens of millions of workers who want to join unions — yet less than 1 percent of them succeed annually. Why? Because employers blatantly violate current labor law knowing they will suffer little or no penalty for it.

A study by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations shows that employers illegally fire at least one worker for union activity during organizing campaigns 25 percent of the time, hire union-busting consultants 75 percent of the time, and force employees to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their own supervisors 78 percent of the time. Using what is essentially psychological warfare, they figure out how you are going to vote and pressure you to vote against the union. There's your real intimidation and lack of a secret ballot right there.

It's gotten so bad, the highly respected international organization Human Rights Watch stated in 2000 that “Legal obstacles tilt the playing field so steeply against workers' freedom of association, that the United States is in violation of international human rights standards for workers.”

Under current law, unions can already be formed when a majority signs authorization cards (so-called “card check”). Unfortunately, the law gives that choice to the employers, who — surprise, surprise! — almost always opt instead for a union election, giving them time to bring in the Gucci-clad goons to stampede their employees. All the proposed legislation does is put that choice where it belongs — in the hands of the employees themselves. After all, it's their organization, so why do their bosses get to say how it is formed? If even 30 percent of the employees want a secret ballot under the proposed law, they can have one. The law also imposes much stiffer penalties for messing with employees' rights to form a union.

President Obama supports the Employee Free Choice Act , as does new Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Congresswoman Betsy Markey is one of 223 co-sponsors of the bill in the House. With its allies and front groups, the Chamber of Commerce has pledged to spend $200 million to defeat the bill, which it calls “a firestorm bordering on Armageddon.” Big Business is putting intense pressure on Colorado Senators Mark Udall and especially Michael Bennet, who must run for re-election in 2010. Bennet needs to hear from you, too. Let's remind him that we are the majority, and we want real freedom of choice at work.

Eric Fried is one of the 73 percent who support EFCA according to the newest Hart poll at eric@pvgreens.org.