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‘Employee Free Choice’ Legislation
Introduced in Senate, House

APWU Web News Article #026-09, March 10, 2009

Legislation that would give workers greater freedom to choose to form unions and bargain for a better workplace was introduced in the Senate and the House on March 10.

Sen. Tom Harkin shows how without unions, and the Employee Free Choice Act, America’s workers fall behind.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Employee Free Choice Act following a March 10 hearing by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.

The legislation is the labor movement’s top priority in the 111th Congress. It would make it easier for workers to choose to become union members, and would stiffen penalties for employers who retaliate against employees who try to gain a voice in the workplace. President Obama has pledged to sign it into law.

The bill is based on a simple premise: If a majority of employees in a workplace want a union, they should be able to have one. Independent polling shows that 73 percent of the public supports it — and that support comes from every region, every demographic group, and every political party.

Similar measures were introduced two years ago, and although the bill passed the House in early 2007, a vote to pass it in the Senate was blocked. The White House had indicated that even if Congress were to pass the legislation, President Bush would veto it.

Workers spoke at today’s press conference for the need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, including Sharon Harrison from CWA, Kelly Badillo, SEIU and Deborah Kelly from IBEW.

“I encourage APWU members to urge their legislators to support this important legislation,” said APWU President William Burrus. “This is our number-one priority. And I call upon elected officials to resist the misinformation campaign that the business community has promised.”

Myke Reid, APWU’s Legislative and Political Director, said that the introduction of the bill in both houses so early in the session was a good sign. “It indicates that the sponsors feel it has enough support in both chambers to reach the president's desk in short order,” Reid said.

For more about the APWU’s legislative goals, click here.

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