Recently the House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) which would improve the process for workers to join unions. Why should we make it easier for workers to join unions? Because 50 million American workers have said they would if they had the choice.
The truth is, fewer and fewer jobs today offer decent wages, health care, pensions or job stability. Union jobs, however, provide workers with these staples of middle class living. The problem is union jobs are becoming a rarity due to the fierce employer opposition workers often face when they try to organize a union.
EFCA reforms the process for workers to join unions so that a union would receive certification to represent a given worksite if a majority of workers sign union authorization cards.
EFCA provides a democratic alternative to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections, allowing workers to base their decision on what they feel is best, rather than what management wants - and during NLRB elections, employers have ample time to campaign against the unionization effort and intimidate workers.
The creation of such antagonistic and hostile environments often forces workers to forget the pros and cons of unionization and simply worry about employer retaliation. This is hardly a democratic process.
Further, penalties for breaking the law are not enough to stop employers from harassing and retaliating against pro-union workers. Although it is illegal to discriminate against workers who support the union, research shows that one out of every five workers who advocate for unions is fired.
Workers should not have to base their decisions on whether or not to join a union on fear they will be fired if they do not vote the way the boss wants. EFCA helps make sure that workers are able to vote their conscience free from intimidation, by replacing the election process with an alternative that is less confrontational and coercive.
While we are fortunate to live in a state that has strong unions and strong collective bargaining legislation, too many workers in some of the fastest growing states do not have the legal safeguards to become union members.
Considering some of the common stereotypes of labor unions - from corrupt mobsters to vestiges of the U.S. industrial era - you may be wondering, are unions really a good thing?
The 50 million workers who would join a union if they could think so, and it is clear why: Union workers earn higher wages and have better benefits, such as health care and pensions. Unions get workers on track towards a middle class life and the strength of the American economy has long been the middle class.
It is no coincidence that as the gap between the rich and poor in our country is dramatically increasing; the number of union jobs has been decreasing. The Employee Free Choice Act will help to reverse this trend.
The House passed this important act recently. Now, we urge the Senate to move quickly to pass this bill and to demonstrate that our country is committed to making the American Dream a reality again for hard working families.
Co-authored by Representative Joseph Crowley, U.S. Congressional District 7, New York State who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, and Mike Fishman, President of SEIU Local 32BJ, the largest property services union in the country with more than 85,000 members in six states and Washington D.C.
