by James Parks, Jun 27, 2007

The fight to allow workers a free choice to join a union without employer interference is far from over. After a handful of obstructionist senators blocked a vote on the Employee Free Choice Act yesterday, an array of political and union leaders made it clear the momentum is growing for this legislation and that it’s a matter of when, not if, this bill becomes law. The next step: Elect a Senate that will pass the bill and a president who will sign it.

Here’s a sample of some statements issued after the vote:

• AFSCME President Gerald McEntee: “The struggle to enact the Employee Free Choice Act is not over. A majority of senators are now on record supporting an America where the middle class thrives, seniors can afford their prescriptions, parents can afford to send their children to college and workers can afford to retire with security.” (See video.)

• Presidential candidate John Edwards: “Today, a majority of the Senate stood up to make it easier for workers to join a union. A minority of senators showed which side they are on by blocking the bill today—but they won’t be able to block it forever. If a Republican can join the Republican Party by signing their name to a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by doing exactly the same thing.”

• Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the bill’s sponsor, along with 46 other senators: ” Today’s vote sends a clear signal to the American public about which party stands with working people—and although we were blocked today we will not give up and we will not give in. I can promise that we will be back. There may be obstacles along the way, but we’ll keep up the fight until we get a victory for working families.”    

• United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard: “The Employee Free Choice Act will remain an issue working families and their communities will continue to work until we achieve a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and elect a new president in 2008.

• Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen: “This vote—along with the March vote by the House of Representatives—is a huge accomplishment for union activists and members of the Stewards Army who have invested their time and effort to make a real difference.”

• Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.): “I am disappointed the Senate failed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Strengthening our workers’ right to organize shouldn’t be controversial. It will be working Americans, united and organized, that will help us restore a sense of shared prosperity and security to this nation.”

• AFT President Edward McElroy: “The current fight for workers’ rights is gaining momentum and will not be stopped. A union card is a tried-and-true ticket to the middle class, and the AFT and its members will continue to advocate for laws—at all levels of government-that safeguard the freedom of employees to join a union and bargain for a better life.”

• Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts: “Those who voted today to deny working men and women the ability to decide for themselves whether or not they want a union where they work also voted to allow the atmosphere of corporate-sponsored fear and intimidation so prevalent in union representation elections to continue. I want them to know that we will remember their vote, too.” (Click here to hear a radio debate with Roberts on the Employee Free Choice Act.) 

• Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.): “More working families, not fewer, deserve access to the higher wages, better health care, and retirement security that union membership brings. Today the Senate sought simply to reaffirm the basic proposition that every worker in this country has the democratic right to associate freely and, if they so choose, join or form a union.”

• Presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.): “Passing this legislation would have been a crucial step in the fight for strengthening worker’s rights. Although I am frustrated by the obstructionist tactics employed by some Senators to prevent full debate on this measure, I will continue to work to put real teeth in our labor laws and help improve the working conditions for all American workers.” 

• Rep. Phillip Hare (D-Ill.): “Anti-union forces should take only temporary comfort in today’s vote. With 69 percent of Americans supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, I expect that any senator who blocked this bill will be held to account by their constituents. This legislation will pass. It’s only a matter of when.”

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