A vote against the EFCA is a vote for workers. The Union bosses have convinced US workers that it is in their interest to pass the EFCA. Forcing more workers into organized labor does not help the American worker; it does exactly the opposite. The faulty premise in the argument is that big labor has been good for the US Worker. This is simply not true. While labor made incredible gains for workers in the beginning, in recent years union bosses steal from workers, legally and illegally, whenever they can. They invest pension funds for their own gain, they cause workers who disagree with them to be blacklisted and they sue workers who try to get out of the union and keep their jobs. How is this good for the worker? If workers are to have free choice, it must include free choice to choose among unions and to choose to not join a union within a given shop.
Please do not support the Employee Free Choice Act until it includes meaningful rights for workers not unions!
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) co-authored by our Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, will give every American the option of forming a Union at his workplace. This will reverse the process of all economic growth and prosperity going exclusively to the top 1% of bosses and CEOs that we have witnessed the past 30 years.
As the ecomomic writer Ezra Klein has noted,
"Unions do not change economic growth, or at least there's littleconvincing evidence that they do. The countries with the world'shighest growth rates -- the Nordic economies -- also have some of theworld's highest rates of unionization. Denmark, Sweden, and Finland allapproach 80 percent. Rather, unions change the distributionof economic growth. They direct more of it to the middle class and lessof it to the executive class.
It is time we ignore the false claims of the Republican Party that Unions are not good for the country and should be eliminated. The recent attempts by Republicans to destroy the UAW and throw an additional 3 Million workers out of their jobs while at the same time giving Billions of dollars in aid and tax credits to Foreign automakers in Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky has been exposed, and shows that in their hatred directed against American workers, the Republicans are not only anti-Union, but anti-American.
The time has come for us to buy American, to support each other by strengthening each other's ability to organize against the CEO's, and to make America strong again by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. With Labor reform like this and a great President who cares about working people, we can get out of this financial crisis and provide a secure future for our children.
My friend Martin e-mailed the following comment to me, which I've taken the liberty of quoting in full:
I'm a little concerned that the Blue Dog Democrats seem to back out ofthe Employee Free Choice Act [Ed: EFCA]. I think this could be an interestingtest for the potential impact of Organizing for America, if these 13million people could put some pressure on the Senate Democrats andmake sure this is passed.Nate Silver has some good analysis of who is against EFCA and why:http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/life-and-times-of-efca-part-i.html#commentsI don't know if anyone has read Steven Greenhouse's devastating book"The Big Squeeze", but it was a great eye opener for me when it comesto how degrading the treatment of workers in America has become sinceReagan.
I've accepted a job as an organizer for the SEIU in Grand Forks, ND.
I am very excited about returning to Grand Forks, ND to work for health care for all and advocating for the employee free choice Act. I hope you will join me in this effort to ensure workers will have the right to collaborate. People working together to improve their own living and working situation -- we must ensure that right is protected.
I look forward to working with you on these issues. Let me know if you are interested in learning more about the work we are doing in North Dakota.
Dear Barack:
As you prepare to take office, I am so hopeful that you will learn from the lessons of the last Democrat Party president who failed, especially in his first term, to govern from the center. But due to your support of the Employee Free Choice Act, I am afraid the opposite is coming true. It is hard to imagine a place to the left of George McGovern on the political spectrum, but on this issue, you appear to be staking it out.
Even George McGovern says that, by doing away with the secret ballot election when unions attempt to organize a workplace, you will be going too far.
Please, sir, reconsider your suport of this proposed legislation.
George McGovern statement on Employee Free Choice Act:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afjp4Cx-3W0
Barack Obama statement on the Employee Free Choice Act:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMNVIQqatyU&feature=related
I heard another whopper about you a few weeks ago that I find hard to believe. I was told that you advocate ending the use of the secret ballot when unions attempt to organize a workplace? That couldn’t be true, could it?
A secret ballot is needed to allow people who are voting, no matter what they are voting for, the opportunity to cast their ballot in privacy. Only when there is a secret ballot is an individual able to make a decision free of intimidation and coercion. It is what separates a democracy from forms of government with puppet elections. The names Stalin and Castro come to mind.
The Employee Free Choice Act, which you said you would sign into law, takes the secret ballot out of the process by which unions attempt to organize a workplace. It tips the scales so far in favor of unions that employees who don’t want to be represented by a union don’t have a chance. All a union has to do is get a majority of a group of workers to sign a union card. The freedom that comes from a secret ballot would be replaced by potential intimidation at the tavern across the street from work.
Don’t get me wrong, Barack. In my line of work I have the honor of working with many proud and skilled union members. Unions have played an important place in American history helping workers gain important rights and benefits.
But unionization comes with higher costs and the decreased ability for American businesses to compete in the global marketplace. You know that. With such competition, unions have been losing members in great numbers in recent years.
Shouldn’t such an important workplace decision be made on a level playing field?
Please continue to allow American workers the opportunity to accept or reject a union free from coercion and intimidation. Don’t make the Employee Free Choice act the law in its current form.
Stephen Views the News 10/25/08
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
* Politics in need of a Thesaurus – John McCain and Republican brethren are accusing Obama and liberals of having an agenda of Socialism. They fail to comprehend that “Socialism” and “fairness” are not synonymous. They fail to recognize that sharing the bounty is good for everyone. Our society works best when there is an engaged work force earning a reasonable wage. That has nothing to do with the indiscriminant distribution of wealth or resources. Ultra-conservative Henry Ford understood this principle. He paid his workers a higher wage than what was the standard at the time. He realized that if employees had sufficient income they would also become customers for the automobiles he produced.
In more recent years the marriage of Republicans, conservatives and special interests has resulted in the abandonment of the common good. Declining wages, increasing unemployment and dramatic increases in the concentration of wealth are evident in every study that examines U.S. economic conditions. Adjusting economic policy in order to revitalize what had been a vibrant middle class is not Socialism. It is intelligent Capitalism. On the other hand, not adjusting economic imbalances is exactly what leads to conditions that have spawned Socialism and Communism and revolution. I would suggest that Senator McCain and his Party are also in need of history books.
* Different roads offer a clear choice – I watched appearances of McCain and Obama this week. When McCain made a comment about Obama the crowd booed. McCain paused to allow the boos to resonate and then continued with his comments. When Obama made a statement about McCain there was a smattering of boos in the audience. Obama held up his hands in a halting fashion and said to the crowd, “We will have none of that.”
* A prescription for conservatives – It is understandable that some Republicans and conservatives find the McCain-Palin ticket unappealing but have anxiety about voting for a Democratic candidate or a Barack Obama who is perceived as left of center in political philosophy. Since I already prescribed Xanax for nervous voters in the previous blog I offer a non-pharmaceutical alternative. The website Conservatives for Change is a project featuring Republicans and Conservatives who, in their own words, explain why they are voting for Obama. Perhaps peer experiences will ease the transition. See McCain Effect below.
* Does McCain suffer from dementia, ignorance or bovine excreta? John McCain was interviewed on the Don Imus radio show. In reference to his VP selection Sarah Palin, McCain said, “I think she's the most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president, to tell you the truth.” McCain therefore concludes that Governor Palin possesses superior qualifications to that of Al Gore, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney and George H. W. Bush. Perhaps this explains McCain’s affinity for George W. Bush and why many serious voters have difficulty taking McCain seriously. In the categories of ”irony” “ludicrous” and “my mirror is broken”, this week McCain accused Barack Obama of being willing to say anything to win the election.
* Bradley Effect - Each day polling data increasingly favors Obama. Many supporters of the Illinois senator take this news favorably but with tempered optimism due to the Bradley Effect. Twenty-six years ago Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, an African American, ran for governor of California. Prior to the election he led in the polls by 20%. He lost the election to George Deukmejian, a White American. It was concluded that many voters polled before the election said they favored Bradley but when it came time to pull the lever they could not vote for a Black man. I have seen comments suggesting that polling is significantly more sophisticated today and that more recent races between White and Black candidates demonstrated that polling reflected the final results. Such observations have not reduced the apprehension of many leading up to this year’s election.
* McCain Effect - I have been wondering if this year’s election may produce a McCain Effect. It appears possible that some Republicans and conservatives, as well as Whites who are reluctant to vote for a person of color, have told pollsters they will vote for McCain. Is it possible that some will stand in the polling booth and decide that deep down inside, in opposition to their inclinations, Obama is the right choice to be our nation’s 44th President?
* Palin Effect ~ defining a terrorist – I never imagined that my East coast major metropolitan viewpoint would be the same as someone from Alaska. What I did not realize is how far apart these perspectives can be. NBC’s Brian Williams interviewed Sara Palin this week. In the context of the 1960’s actions by Bill Ayers, Williams asked Palin if an abortion clinic bomber is a terrorist. Most would agree the question is moot but I find the answer telling. Palin responded, “There’s no question that Bill Ayers via his own admittance was one who sought to destroy our U.S. Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities that uh, it would be unacceptable. I don’t know if you’re going to use the word terrorist there.” Am I being cynical wondering if the darling of the extreme religious-right subtly is implying that an action is somehow more excusable if it is performed in an interpretation of the Almighty? I believe we call such folks “al Qaeda.”
* Economic realism – The implosion of Wall Street highlighted many Republican and conservative philosophies and policies that have been somewhere between bad and devastating for the vast majority of Americans. All of their recent finger pointing and misleading blame game tactics do not alter the results. As noted above the employment record is another proof-is-in-the-pudding moment. Republicans would have us believe that tax cuts for the wealthy will lead to greater investment in industry which will lead to greater employment. There may have been some merit to this strategy under different economic and workplace conditions but certainly not as it has been applied during the Bush administration. Articles this week pointed out that Clinton created 23 million jobs while Bush created 4.8 million. At the beginning of the 21st century the Trickle Down Theory may apply to a toddlers right leg but, as a strategy for the American economy, it has dried up. I would expect that under an Obama administration we would see intelligent tax incentives for business aimed at increasing employment while reducing the existing tax cut policies that are devoid of responsible requirements.
Another Republican strategy that I expect will merit demise is anti-unionism. The 20th century offered a history of the battle between unions and business. Each side had their victories and losses but what is clear is that when either side became too strong the common interest was hurt. Today we again see the result of business having become too dominate in this relationship. The unwritten contract between business and the Republican Party has resulted in union membership in private industry falling from 30% after World War II to 8% today. “The decline in union membership paralleled with a decline in real wages, retirement benefits, and quality of health care. To ensure that workers who wish to organize are able to do so, the House passed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in March 2007 with bipartisan support. In the Senate, however, a group of 48 conservatives successfully blocked the measure with a filibuster threat three months later.” I anticipate the passage of this bill in the next Congress.
* The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles.
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948) a political and spiritual leader of India
