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Online Roundup: What the Freedom to Bargain Means for Workers |
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Here are a few great pieces from around the Web on the ongoing fight for the Employee Free Choice Act.
At the Huffington Post, the AFL-CIO’s Stewart Acuff talks about the economic consequences of the longtime corporate war on the freedom to bargain, as well as the Bush administration’s hostility to public-sector workers’ freedom to bargain. Acuff says that to restore the economy, we need to make sure that every worker, public and private, can bargain for a better life:
It should be abundantly clear and obvious by now that unions and collective bargaining are not economic culprits but are essential to long term, sustainable economic well being.
Collective bargaining is by far the best, more efficient and cost effective way to increase consumer demand by allowing workers to negotiate a fair share of the fruits of their work and productivity. Collective bargaining is the only way to build, expand, strengthen and deepen the American middle class. The destruction of collective bargaining freedoms is the reason we all feel the squeeze on the middle class.
At Cogitamus, blogger “Sir Charles” cuts through right-wing spin and explains how the process of forming a union really takes place in far too many workplaces today. He says the freedom to form a union and bargain is blocked by unfair management tactics and relays the story of a worksite where 70 percent of employees requested union representation, but company pressure—the kind that is insufficiently penalized, or not penalized at all, under current law—created a climate of fear:
Almost immediately upon receiving news of the election, the employer began a campaign of intimidation, both subtle and not so subtle. Suddenly the company owner began handing out paychecks in person on the job sites. Just as suddenly work began to dry up, allegedly requiring layoffs. Then the firings began. There was one guy who we claimed should be on the list of eligible voters for the election. At first the company objected, claiming he was a supervisor. Shortly thereafter, they decided to agree with our position and put the employee on the list. The next day they fired him.
A flood of propaganda issued from the employer indicating that if the employees voted for the union, there might not be work for them or that their working conditions might actually worsen. Unceasing claims that jobs might disappear, reinforced by firings and mass layoffs ensued. By the time of the election on Friday, the active work force had been cut in half, and those that remained were thoroughly cowed by this show of employer power. The union lost the vote by a two to one margin.
At Campus Progress, Adam Raphael continues an ongoing series looking at the struggles of young workers in a tough economy, and profiles Thomas Robinson, a security guard who’s trying to win a better life for himself, his co-workers and his community by forming a union. Robinson says that the Employee Free Choice Act is going to be critical to giving young workers a chance at the middle class:
Having a union in the workplace ensures that collective issues that affect all workers, regardless of industry, are taken seriously. It helps guarantee that discussions regarding wages, benefits, pension, and grievances processes are never ignored, nor forgotten.
The Employee Free Choice Act will [raise] the levels of employee compensation through collective bargaining….Those that would be new to the workplace would reap some of the benefits of the groundwork that is already being laid, no matter what level of industry they enter at.
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Many young people enter the workforce not intending to stay at a particular job for any length of time—just until they graduate, or until something opens up in their chosen field. But life’s little surprises can change even the best laid plans. A health condition, family addition,change in fortune; any number of things can arise and cause a person to hang on to that source of income much longer than they had planned.
I was lucky to land a good union job while I was working my way through school, and when I had to drop out of college, I was still able to make a decent living. When it became evident that my focus had to be on earning a living to support my family, that’s what I did. But I was more fortunate than some of my friends, because I had good working conditions, benefits, and a pension —because I worked at a union job.
If I had stayed in school, and earned my degree, I would have still preferred to work in a union environment because there are so many advantages to working under a contract. But even if you aren’t going to make a career out of your job, the time you spend in that industry should count towards something. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, but time spent working should have some value in the future.
This is something that many young people don’t think about; I know that job security or a pension didn’t mean much to me at age 18 or 19. I needed to support myself and pay for school. But how much better would it be for these new workers to have an opportunity to build on their future in the mean time, while they work towards their goals, dreams and ambitions? A union job can provide a great start.