World Series Stars Pitch, Go to Bat for EFCA

"A level playing field is as important in the workplace as it is in baseball."

The Major League Baseball Players Association, AFL-CIO, is marking the beginning of the World Series with print ads in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads will run in today's edition of Capitol Hill newspapers Roll Call, The Hill, and Politico.

Click here to see the full color ad, the text of which reads:

"A level playing field is as important in the workplace as it is in baseball. That’s why the players pictured above are among the many big-league players who support the Employee Free Choice Act.

"Now more than ever, we need a strong union movement to protect our jobs, our pensions, and our future. The Employee Free Choice Act simply guarantees a level playing field for all workers. It makes sure everyone plays by the same rules. That's as important in the workplace as it is in baseball. Pass the Employee Free Choice Act Now."

Three of the players who signed the above statement - Jimmy Rollins, Mark Teixeira and Shane Victorino - will play in the World Series match up between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. The other players featured are Heath Bell, Dave Rush, LaTroy Hawkins, Torii Hunter, John Lannan, Andrew Miller, J.J. Putz, Justin Verlander, and Adam Wainwright.

Ending Corporate Abuse: Forced, Binding Arbitration

Read the report by Public Citizen - Forced Arbitration: Unfair and Everywhere (PDF).

FairArbitrationNow.org launched to highlight, bring end to the abuse

Forced arbitration is giving up your right to go to court if you are harmed by a company. Under forced arbitration, any dispute you have with a company is handled by a third party that doesn't have to follow the law, doesn't have to publish their findings for public review, and depends on the company's referral for its business.

Forced arbitration is not only unfair, it's everywhere, according to a report released in September 2009 by Public Citizen:

In forced arbitration, consumers lose the right to go to court to settle disputes with businesses. Instead, they must go before private tribunals that are chosen by businesses and compete with one another to satisfy these business clients. In addition, arbitration is usually conducted in secret, often imposes onerous costs on consumers, and provides extremely little opportunity for meaningful appeal (even when a ruling ignores the law). [emphasis added]

You're likely already bound by forced arbitration agreements if any of the following apply to you: you have a cell phone, a job, a bank account, or student loans, you go to a doctor, you plan to buy a car or build a new house, you have a relative in a nursing home, you pay for cable or satellite TV - the list goes on and on.

Many of the laws passed to protect consumers from negligence and employees from violations of their civil rights are unenforceable under binding arbitration.

The Solution: Banning forced arbitration

The Arbitration Fairness Act is legislation introduced in the 111th Congress which would outlaw forced arbitration in consumer agreements and employment contracts. Arbitration should be a choice, and the Arbitration Fairness Act would restore that choice for American consumers and employees. Specifically, the Act:

Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of: (1) an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute, or (2) a dispute arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights.

Declares, further, that the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement.

Exempts from this Act arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements.

Three things you can do to end forced arbitration

1. Sign the petition to end forced arbitration.
2. Call your member of Congress and tell him/her to support the Arbitration Fairness Act.
3. Join the opposition to forced arbitration.

Learn more about forced arbitration in various sectors of the economy and about our campaign to end it at www.FairArbitrationNow.org.

VIDEO: The Truth Behind the Public Option

Not scary or complicated at all

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explains what a public option for healthcare coverage really means for working people.

Watch the video, then share it with your social network:

Call the Congress toll-free using this number: 1-877-3-AFL-CIO (1-877-323-5246). Tell them we want health care reform including a strong public option. Make your voice heard!

UPDATE: Two Bill Fletcher Talks Tomorrow (10/29)

"Challenges Facing Organized Labor in the Great Recession"

Bill Fletcher is Director of the Field Services and Education Department of AFGE. He's also one of the leading activists and writers today on labor and race in the United States.

The Department of History at North Carolina State University is sponsoring a talk by Bill Fletcher on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 3:00 pm in Withers Hall room #331. The event is free and open to the public.

What: Talk with Bill Fletcher on Challenges Facing Labor in the Great Recession
When: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Where: Withers Hall room #331 on campus of NCSU, Raleigh, NC (map it)

For more information about this special event, contact Professor David Zonderman at 919-513-2222 or david_zonderman@ncsu.edu

UPDATE: 2nd Talk with Bill Fletcher at Quail Ridge Books at 7:30 pm

Bill Fletcher will also speak tomorrow night at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Join him for a discussion about his book, Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social Justice.

When: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Where: Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Ave Raleigh, NC (map it)