Your Turn: Support the Employee Free Choice Act

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070421/OPINION/104210015/1006/NEWS01

Your Turn: Support the Employee Free Choice Act
By Amy L. Bodnar, St. Cloud

Published: April 21. 2007 12:30AM - Last updated: April 21. 2007 1:19AM


In the April 10 St. Cloud Times, Washington lobbyist Phil Kerpen was deceitful when he questioned the motives of union members in their support for the Employee Free Choice Act. (Your Turn, "Bachmann's vote on unions is wise.")

So what are the Americans for Prosperity Foundation anyway? Turns out it's a group entirely made up of "big business" corporate executives, including Koch Industries and Variety Wholesalers, who I believe work mostly on the needs of corporations nationwide, not for working Minnesotans like the ones who live in St. Cloud.

This "foundation" and corporations across the country are afraid of workers joining together to make improvements in their health insurance, pay and working conditions. I would be afraid if I was them too, because union workers earn 30 percent more than nonunion workers, according to AFL-CIO research.

Survey research conducted for the AFL-CIO found that 53 percent of U.S. workers would join a union right now if they could, 62 percent believe workers would be worse off if there were no unions, and 77 percent say it is important for there to be strong laws to ensure workers freedom to join a union.

But as many of us know, workers who seek to form a union are often subject to harassment and intimidation on the job, and many lose their jobs altogether. According to the AFL-CIO, 31,000 people were fired last year for trying to form a union.

The current law puts the advantage squarely with employers who prevent us from forming unions and pretty much allows them to threaten workers with the loss of their job.

FULL article at link.