Why Retirees Should Care About Employee Free Choice Act

George J. Kourpias, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, urges union retirees to contact their lawmakers and ask them to support the Employee Free Choice Act.  For more information, visit our website at www.RetiredAmericans.org or call 1-888-373-6497. 

Unions built the middle class. By standing together, we fought for and won better wages, health care and pensions and safety and respect on the job. 

But much of what we achieved is crumbling in today’s troubled economy. Many of us worry that our children and grandchildren will not live as well as we have. More than ever, American workers need the good wages and benefits that they can best achieve through collective bargaining.

As the former president of the Machinists union—and now as president of the Alliance for Retired Americans—there is no doubt in my mind that the fate of workers and retirees is undeniably linked. 

We cannot have a solid, stable retirement unless we have a solid, stable middle class.  For example, union workers are three times more likely to have a defined-benefit pension plan than nonunion workers.  And union workers are five times more likely to have health insurance than nonunion workers. 

To me, it is no coincidence that as it becomes harder for workers to form and join unions, more and more Americans are struggling to take care of their families, see a doctor or get a prescription filled, or retire with any sense of comfort. 

According to the National Labor Relations Board, in 2007 nearly 30,000 workers faced illegal employer retaliation for trying to join a union—that is five times as many as in 1967. 

How do we change this?  Workers and retirees must fight together to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, so we can finally crack down on companies that break the law and try to block workers’ freedom to join a union. 

What can retirees do to help? 

First, talk with your children and grandchildren. Polls have shown that younger workers may not be as aware of the benefits of union bargaining. Tell them all about what our generation went through to create jobs that could support a family. And how much it hurts to see it all slipping away. 

Next, tell your representatives and senators in Washington. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. 

Retirees have a lot at stake in this fight.  We know what collective bargaining did for us, and we want only the best for our children and grandchildren.  If we stand together—retirees, workers, and community leaders—we can pass the Employee Free Choice Act and restore economic security to people of all ages.

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