March 19, 2008
The Employee Free Choice Act is introduced in Congress. The opposition's disingenous spin tactics are flooding the airwaves, as part of a $300 million Corporate effort to keep their strangle hold on the broken NLRB election system.
Last week, the United States Congress introduced the Employee Free Choice Act in both the US House and Senate, after the Senate HELP committee (Health,Education,Labor & Pensions) held a hearing with two panels testifying to the merits of the Act. Alaska was represented as IBEW 1547 apprentice llineman Deb Kelly was one of four workers nationwide who testified on what being in a union has meant to her. Go to www.employeefreechoice.typepad.com/ak/ to see the testimony. We at the Alaska AFL-CIO encourage rank and file members to support this legislation by writing letters to the editors of your local newspapers, responding to anti-union bloggers at the Anchorage Daily News at www.adn.com and at the Fairbanks Daily News Miner at www.newsminer.com .
But most importantly, contact Sen. Lisa Murkowski through her Alaska or Washington DC offices to encourage her support. Her contact info is available at www.murkowski.senate.gov and thank Sen. Mark Begich for his continued support of this critical legislation to restore America's middle class. Sen. Begich's contact info is available via www.begich.senate.gov And while you are at it, remember Congressman Young who has supported this legislation from the beginning and continues to do so despite pressure from the business community.
UNIONS RALLY FOR THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT AT SENATOR'S OFFICES
Yesterday, June 19th, labor leaders and dozens of rank and file union members as well as non-represented workers showed up at the Anchorage office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski carrying signs and belting out chants to encourage Sen. Murkowski to support the Employee Free Choice Act. The energy was awesome! There were an estimated 70-80 people who turned out for the lunch time rally. After labor leaders delivered postcards signed by thousands of Alaska workers, the group marched a few blocks away over to the Anchorage office of Sen. Ted Stevens and repeated the action. It is anticipated that EFCA will be on the Senate floor for a vote later this week. (For more on EFCA, read the text below the pictures)
Alaska AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami addresses rally-goers
Workers marching in front of Senator Murkowski's Anchorage offices
UA Local 367 Business Manager Randy Whitney (left) and IBEW Local 1547 Business Manager Larry Bell, showing their leadership and taking part in the EFCA rally
Public employees, construction workers, and others from our proud Alaska work force showed up to send the message to our Senators.
Alaska AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami delivers the box of postcards to a staffer for Senator Murkowski. Also making the presentation: Dennis Traylor, President of the Anchorage Building Trades, Chris Lyou from ASEA (whose union collected 900+ postcards), and Melinda Taylor, President of the Anchorage Central Labor Council (not pictured because she was pulling double duty as our photographer)
Traylor, Beltrami, and Megan Collie (Alaska AFL-CIO super staffer) at the rally.
A big thanks to all who showed up. Everyone who showed had a good time for a great cause, and stirred up memories of the power of a unified voice. Stay tuned for the next rally. Its time!
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The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) - encourage senators Stevens and murkowski to support this important bill for the good of working alaskans
call 1-800-774-8941 NOW and leave a message.
This is the most important labor legislation since the original passage of The National Labor Relations Act. This single act, if passed, will go farther toward restoring the middle class in our country than any thing we have seen in more than 50 years.
The legislation restores the guarantees originally intended in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which sought to give people the freedom to join or form a union for the purposes of collectively bargaining with employers. The current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) procedure is broken and tilted in favor of employers, exactly 180 degrees out of the purpose for which the Act was established.
And this is not just a union member issue. Polling has indicated that 60 million Americans would join a union if they could. And workers who are not represented by a union would also surely benefit. But the system for joining or forming a union is broken. Union workers earn, on average, 30% more than those not represented by a union.
Specifically, the legislation would provide for union recognition by a simple majority of authorization cards being signed at a workplace. And contrary to what our senators are saying in their replies to Alaskans who are weighing in on the subject EFCA does not do away with the secret ballot election. It does, however, put the control of who can dictate whether an election is held, back in the hands of the employees, not the employers, as the NLRA was originally intended. Upon certification by the NLRB, the employer and the union must reach an agreement (first contract) within 90 days, or either party could request binding arbitration. Also, the legislation would impose stiffer penalties for employers who engage in the harassment, coercion, or intimidation prevalent in union organizing drives today.
So, call or e-mail our Senators today to encourage them to support the Employee Free Choice Act.Timing is critical as this is expected to be voted on in the next month. For more information about the Act, click on the Employee Free Choice Act link on the right.
