Employees would have a choice, they won’t have to be afraid because they want a union. They won’t have to worry about being harassed or intimidated.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee told the crowd that House passage of the Employee Free Choice Act was a first step toward giving workers at Resurrection and around the country the freedom to decide for themselves whether to join a union without employers’ veto over their fundamental rights.

What’s happened at Resurrection is a perfect example of why we need to fix our nation’s broken labor laws. It’s really simple: workers in the United States of America should have the freedom to join a union if they want to. The freedom to improve their lives, the freedom to lift themselves up without getting harassed and intimidated by the boss without getting fired.

And when the boss gets out of line, the law should be on the side of the workers. That’s what the workers of America need. That’s what the thousands of housekeepers, nurses, technical employees, and cafeteria staff of Resurrection need.

McEntee presented the Resurrection campaign with a check for $1 million on behalf of AFSCME.

Speaking at the rally, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the Resurrection workers struggle is important for all of Chicago:

We are here today to remind the business, government and academic leaders of this great city that strong unions mean stronger communities. Chicago, the City of Broad Shoulders, was built by working families and our unions and the Resurrection workers deserve the support of Chicago, all of Chicago.

The Rev. Mike Knotek, pastor of  St. John De La Salle Catholic Church and a former Resurrection employee, was among 29 Catholic priests from the Archdiocese of Chicago taking part in today’s event. Knotek says Resurrection employees need the Employee Free Choice Act because the hospitals are no longer run on Catholic principles, which are crystal clear about respect for the rights of workers. Resurrection is the largest Catholic health care chain in Illinois, but its management is ignoring centuries of Catholic teachings that support the rights of workers.

I was told by managers to cut back on my service to low-income clients and devote my time to “paying customers.” On several occasions managers made the statement, “Resurrection Health Care is no longer a ministry. It is a corporation.

I was admonished for trying to assist homeless people who would come to the hospital. I’ve seen many employees have their workload increased, but their salaries and benefits stagnate.

Sweeney, a lifelong Catholic, says:

…we here today to remind Resurrection Health Care that the freedom to form and join unions is at the core of Catholic social teaching, and for this company to ignore those teachings by refusing to talk to the union is the height of hypocrisy.

It is a disgrace that this Catholic institution is allowed to ignore basic Catholic social teachings.

Obama said the union movement is the best way for working people to take care of themselves in the 21st century economy:

In coffee shops and town meetings, in VFW halls and right here in this crowd, the questions are all the same. Will I be able to leave my children a better world than I was given? Will I be able to save enough to send them to college or plan for a secure retirement? Will my job even be there tomorrow?  Who will stand up for me in this new world? 

The answer is you. It’s the men and women of the American labor movement. 

Last summer, in a letter to Resurrection CEO Joseph Toomey, Obama and other members of the Illinois congressional delegation, urged Toomey to: