Apple Pie and Employee Free Choice

by Seth Michaels, Apr 15, 2009

The Colorado AFL-CIO is focusing on passing the Employee Free Choice Act this year.

Postal Workers member Tony McKinnon of North Carolina says the freedom to form a union is “as American as apple pie.”

A rally in Philadelphia drew hundreds of workers in support of Employee Free Choice.

Would you like your campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act with a side of pie or a giant billboard? Between last week and this week, over the congressional recess, more than 350 events will take place in support of Employee Free Choice, and they’re showing off the creativity and energy of the workers and allies taking part.

In Colorado, union members are traveling the state as part of the “Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act” campaign. Dan Luevano, a Keenesburg electrician fired for trying to form a union, was joined by other union members as they thanked co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act and challenged other members of Congress to get behind this critical bill.

In Fayetteville, N.C., union members from the Greater Sandhills Central Labor Council gathered to hand out apple pie and talk to their community about why the Employee Free Choice Act is necessary to give workers the ability to bargain for a fair share of the economic success they create.

In Alaska, economist John Schmitt and state AFL-CIO President Vincent Beltrami took part in a forum on the Employee Free Choice Act last week. The AFL-CIO’s Stewart Acuff has toured across Montana to talk with Montanans about the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act, and, of course, letter-writing campaigns continue around the country, with hundreds of letters to members of Congress coming every week.

Allies of workers all around the country are getting enthusiastically involved in this fight. The Louisiana NAACP has signed on, as have civil rights leaders in Omaha, who held an event in support of Employee Free Choice last week. In Wisconsin, small business owner Jim Maples published an op-ed in 10 papers across the state explaining why he supports Employee Free Choice. As Maples says:

I believe that allowing workers to bargain for fair wages and benefits is actually a sound business practice.

It is only logical for businesses to support policies that create a robust middle class, spur economic growth and create shared prosperity. When employees make a good living, they spend that money, which then goes back into local businesses.

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