Delegates to the 2008 AFT convention passed a resolution declaring the union’s strong support for this legislation. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is supported by a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress. More than 210 have co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 in the House and some 39 Senators have agreed to cosponsor the bill as well. Passage of EFCA in the House and the Senate is a priority issue for the new congressional majorities and the AFL-CIO. 

Protecting the right of private sector workers to form a union is important to public sector unions as well. States with low levels of private sector unionization, typically in the South, also limit collective bargaining rights for public employees.

According to independent research, millions of Americans would like to join a union because they want a voice on the job, good health insurance and higher wages. But workers who try to form a union face an unfair uphill struggle as many employers take aggressive steps to intimidate, harass and even fire workers for union-related activity. In fact, when workers try to form a union:

·    92 percent of private sector employers force them to attend closed-door meetings and listen to anti-union propaganda; and

·    25 percent of private sector union campaigns, employers illegally fire workers for pro-union efforts.

The Employee Free Choice Act would create real penalties for employers who violate workers' rights, providing for impartial mediation and arbitration to settle first contract disputes, and granting automatic recognition of the union when a majority of the workers ask for one.