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Workers in Colorado, Arkansas Advance the Fight for Employee Free Choice
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In Colorado, Arkansas and key states around the country, the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act continued over the past week, as grassroots activists got the chance to make the case to elected leaders in support of the freedom to form unions and bargain.
In Colorado, newly appointed Sen. Michael Bennet held a town hall meeting at Washington Park Church of Christ in Denver, part of a statewide tour to discuss the economy. The Rev. Daniel Klawitter, a member of Colorado Interfaith Worker Justice, presented Bennet with 300 letters from religious leaders and workers around the state asking him to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
The AFL-CIO’s Don Slaiman reports that Bennet took a question from him about the Employee Free Choice Act, an issue that Bennet said had been coming up around the state. While he says he’s still studying the issue, Bennet acknowledged that the decline in worker power and the failure of wages to keep up with productivity has hurt the economy. Slaiman, Klawitter and other attendees got a chance to explain to Bennett why they support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Members of Colorado unions visited the state capitol last Friday to see their state representatives. As a result of these office visits, more than a dozen Colorado state legislators have signed statements in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
In yesterday’s Denver Post, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka says that corporate intimidation, harassment and coercive tactics to block employees from forming unions have hurt the economy.
The Employee Free Choice Act sounds fair because it is. But corporations that want to keep their employees from a better standard of living are determined to kill it.
Why is the freedom to organize into unions such a high-stakes battle? Because for millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, the union is the path to the middle class. Workers with unions are much more likely to have health insurance coverage and pensions, according to government statistics, and earn a better salary. Employers will fight tooth and nail to keep their employees from having that kind of bargaining power.
Yesterday in Little Rock, the Arkansas AFL-CIO hosted an event in support of the Employee Free Choice Act and discussed a new report about what unions can do for America’s workers and the economy as a whole. The new report shows that if union membership in Arkansas was just 5 percent higher than current levels, Arkansas workers would see an additional $127 million in wages and salaries.
Michael Martin, president of Arkansas’ United Steelworkers (USW) Local 602, reports that union members are organizing calls to the offices of Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor to urge them to support the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
The efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act will continue this week with a live radio town hall meeting in Philadelphia, featuring Trumka and workers from around Pennsylvania.
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