Why The Employee Free Choice Act Is Necessary

Center for American Progress put together this little spot to explain exactly why we need EFCA legislation. The fact is, unionizing a workplace is extremely difficult in this day and age, where after years and years of anti-union bills have passed through Congress at the behest of their Corporate America donors.

Peter King Flips Off Labor On EFCA

New York is still a big labor state despite years of declining activity. That decrease in membership is attributable to years of anti-union legislation brought on by conservatives (in both parties) that put Corporate America ahead of the working and middle class. Yet in New York, local politicians have generally supported unions, even on the Republican side. Congressman Peter King of Long Island tried favoring unions in spite of his party's leadership in Washington.

Now organizations like the AFL-CIO and SEIU among others are pushing to enact the best pro-union legislation in decades. Yet Peter King, who had initially voiced his support for his union friends, has now flipped on them. The unions are predictably pissed off.

From Newsday:

Long Island labor-union organizers, reacting to Rep. Peter King's about-face on the proposed Employees Free Choice Act, are planning to demonstrate at his district office tomorrow in Massapequa Park. Unions say they back the proposal, which King supported and even helped sponsor in the past, as a way to make it easier for them to organize using only card signatures. King has said that economic conditions of the moment make it a bad idea. President Obama is expected to sign the measure if it reaches his desk. The demonstrators are expected to wave -- you guessed it -- flip flops decrying King's new position. King's withdrawal of support came prior to the same move by Sen. Arlen Specter -- the Pennsylvania Republican who created national shockwaves Tuesday by quitting the GOP for the Democrats. (Will he switch back now?)

Of course King isn't the first politican to go back on his EFCA support but every lost vote is an important one. With every other issue getting more play in the news, unions and their advocates have not been able to make enough of an impact on legislators and their tenuous feeling on helping the rights of workers wanting to unionize. With enough pressure, this movement can get back on its feet and make sure Congress passes, and the President signs the legislation.

The Real News On The Status Of EFCA Legislation

As the program notes, the biggest problem that faces workers today that wish to unionize is the law as it stands now. Corporate America has dictated the tone and metamorphisis of union legislation for far too long and EFCA would be a great first step in turning that around.

CostCo, Starbucks And Whole Foods Offer Fake EFCA Compromise

The fight over the Employee Free Choice Act has been a tough one, with pro-union forces looking for more freedom to start unions and corporations wanting to stifle worker collectivity. For decades corporations have largely been winning, evidenced by a long-term decline in union membership. With a majority of people supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, some companies are trying to pull a fast one on union supporters by offering a fake compromise.

From ThinkProgress:

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Costco Wholesale Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Whole Foods Market Inc. are seeking to compromise with union groups to support a modified version of the Employee Free Choice Act. The compromise would allow a union to be formed if 70 percent — instead of the current bill’s 50 percent proposal — sign a card favoring unionization. However, the anti-union lobby refuses to back the deal:

“These huge companies are apparently willing to sell out hundreds of thousands of small ones under the guise of making some phony and misguided compromise with Big Labor,” Mix said in a statement. “We believe we have this draconian bill defeated outright, so these actions may well lead to the bill’s passage.”

The Workforce Fairness Institute’s (WFI) Danny Diaz slammed the proposal in his morning e-mail, Politico reports, calling it a “non-starter” and “even worse” for workers. WFI’s executive director Katie Packer said, “Calling a proposal which exposes 70% of employees to intimidation instead of 50% a ‘compromise’ is beyond absurd.”

Basically this is a last-ditch effort by corporate America, who are using the names of somewhat progressive companies to tout a "compromise" that is anything but. I wonder what group of PR flacks hatched this convoluted plan? Trying to trick us is simply a waste of everyone's time. Now imagine if all the money that goes into subverting the working class from getting better represenation at the companies they work for were used for helping employees. Now that would be a novel idea.

Citigroup Still Fighting Against The People Who Bailed Them Out

The big financial news on Tuesday was that Citigroup has turned themselves around after their stock price went from ninety-seven cents to a buck and a quarter due to better earnings this quarter. So what if it used to be at $60.00? So what if the country bailed them out to the tune of $20 billion? For the here and now, the megalithic bank is profitable, three cheers for the bank!

For the executives at Citigroup, it makes it easier to forget about the taxpayer's assistance so that you can turn around and knife them in the back over EFCA:

The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports that “embattled financial giant Citigroup Inc., which has received at least $50 billion in federal bailout funds, hosted a private conference call on Wednesday to build opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.” On Tuesday, Citigroup downgraded its rating of Wal-Mart from buy to hold, citing fears that EFCA could pass. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said earlier this week that “fierce resistance from Republicans and business groups could force him to delay action” on the measure.

Republicans are putting up fierce resistance? Is Citigroup's stock advice about WalMart is supposed to scare the rest of us into forgetting about the unions and Democrats in general that want this bill to pass?

Hello Harry Reid!!! Republicans lost the election by a ridiculous margin. Citigroup indebtted to us. We owe them nothing! Nothing damnit!

Elections have consequences and now is the time to prove it. Unions are what have made this country strong and given workers the rights they have today. If it were up to Citigroup, we'd have labor conditions that mirrored the Gilded Age, where workers toiled for 60 hours a week with no breaks. There is no reason on Earth why we should give into what they are plotting and on top of that, there is no reason they should be plotting anything to begin with, since they are using our money.

Now grow a spine Senator Reid and get this bill through the Senate!

Ed Schultz Speaks Out For EFCA

Big Ed joins the chorus of left-leaning media personalities and wholeheartedly endorses the Employee Free Choice Act. He's been for this stuff all along, but now is the time to take a strong stand on the issue as it is now in front of Congress.

Rachel Maddow Breaks Down The Employee Free Choice Act In Three Minutes

The case for EFCA could be made even quicker than three minutes but Rachel's style fleshes out all the details of the legislation. She also critiques the Republican falsehoods made about the bill, making John McCain, John Boehner and the rest of the GOP look like the anti-worker politicians that they are.

Corporate America Can't Scare Us From EFCA

The Employee Free Choice Act will be a serious boon to all working Americans, both in and out of unions. This scares the hell out of the top executives in this country that profit off keeping the working and middle class down. As the vote on EFCA draws near, don't buy their scare tactics and keep your eye on the ball.

Good News And Numbers For Unions

These are exciting times now for unions in America. For decades, corporations have chipped away at their power and their ability to organize, resulting in a precipitous decline in membership. Despite that corporate dominance over workers, the total amount of Americans in unions rose in the highest amount since 1983. It sounds great, but only because many of the new recruits work in government where union busting is not much of a problem. Now imagine if private companies had to let workers have their say about joining a union in the same way the government does. Well it can be a reality soon, as long as Congress passes the Employee Free Choice Act.

From The NY Times:

Most Democrats support the bill, the Employee Free Choice Act, saying that making it easier for unions to grow will help strengthen the nation’s middle class during tough economic times. But Republicans denounce the bill because it would give workers the right to gain union recognition as soon as a majority signed cards saying they wanted a union, rather than through secret-ballot elections.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 36.8 percent of government employees belong to unions, compared with just 7.6 percent of workers in the private sector. Typically, state and city officials do not fight unionization efforts, while private-sector employers, fearing higher labor costs, often vigorously resist organizing drives.

The bureau noted that the percentage of workers in unions has dropped from 20.1 percent in 1983, with the decline especially noteworthy among private-sector workers because of a sharp drop in manufacturing jobs as a result of plant closings and pressures from imports. The bureau said 11.4 percent of manufacturing workers, once the heart of organized labor, were in unions.

It is true that many of those losses in membership are due to declining manufacturing jobs. Yet plenty of other industry sectors have blossomed but have not seen much in the way of unionizing. Passing the EFCA would be instrumental in helping to make that happen. Finally we could start to shift the balance of power back towards the people in this country that actually produce the goods and services that the corporations exist off of. After this battle is won, an increase of 428,000 union members a year will seem miniscule.

Corporate America Hates America

They do, they really do. The top executives, lobbyists and CEOs hate us, loathe us, despise us. Now, they love the America where they can get handouts in the billions of dollars for themselves but that isn't the, as Sarah Palin would not say, the real America. When it comes to helping out their workers, the people who actually produce and generate the wealth for the top, corporations will do whatever it takes to punch us in the gut while begging for financial mercy.

From The Huffington Post:

Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.

Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Trade Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.

Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.

"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

Donations of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to Republican senatorial campaigns were needed, they argued, to prevent America from turning "into France."

"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to [former Sen.] Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their goddamn jobs," Marcus declared.

Bernie Marcus is the type of goon that is up against the American worker. To him, the pinnacle of civilization is the feudal system, where thousands of peons toil day and night to increase his bottom line and his bank account. If this guy is charismatic, he must have gotten those skills from the devil himself. His ego looks to be beyond all help, swollen to the point that the slightest touch of his forward would cause an earthquake felt from New York to Los Angeles.

He may fear America turning into France for good reason though. If this were France, and he made statements like that (especially if it were in the early 19th century) he'd be guillotined in an instant. Right after Louis and Marie Antoinette, Marcus would next on the chopping block. His callous disregard for the workers that put him where he's at is astounding. It should be a clear sign to our political leaders that our corporate-government dynamic is out of control, the question is, will they listen?

Workers Want The Employee Free Choice Act

Hundreds of billions have been spent on the interests of the elite and the wealthy. Now it is time to give an advantage to the people who helped create the elite's wealth, our nation's workforce. In addition to real economic stimuli in terms of infrastructure and tax breaks for the middle class, giving people easier access to form a union is essential to keep that middle class going.

SEIU Works To Organize At McDonalds

McDonalds in no way wants their employees to be aware that their CEO makes 770 times their average wage. Nor do they want the Employee Free Choice Act passed by Congress, giving workers a chance to organize like never before. So SEIU went to many of their franchises across the country to make change happen.

Fact Checking The Employee Free Choice Act

Corporations are fighting hard against the pro-union measure with deceptive ad, so how about we add a lil' truth to the mix:

This Could Be Your Next Job

Or worse, it could be similar to your current position. It is past the time to give our nation's workers a fair wage and a safe workplace. Under conservative rule, many of our protections have been rescinded. Now we must fight back and this is a great way to start.



Now sign the petition to help get this bill moving!