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Pelosi: Employee Free Choice Act a Top Priority |
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed today that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act will be a top priority when Congress returns from the Presidents Day recess.
In a press conference in San Francisco, Pelosi said House Democrats, as part of their first 100 hours agenda, passed an increase in the minimum wage and now it’s time to restore the right of American workers to join a union without harassment from employers.
The San Francisco event was part of a weeklong series of actions around the nation as workers met with members of Congress and community leaders to push for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800).
In nearly 100 cities, at news conferences, worker roundtables, rallies and other gatherings, workers and union and community leaders are connecting with more than 130 members of Congress—thanking those who support the Employee Free Choice Act and demanding better from those who don’t.
Click here to find an Employee Free Choice Act event near you.
Several workers appeared with Pelosi, including Ivo Camilo, a worker at Blue Diamond Growers, who told the crowd how he was fired in 2005 after 35 exemplary years for simply speaking up in favor of forming a union. In less than a week after he and 58 of his co-workers informed management they wanted to begin forming a union at the almond-processing plant in Sacramento, he was fired. Camilo said:
Getting a union shouldn’t be so hard. We shouldn’t have to pay such a high price in hardship when our employers break the law. The Employee Free Choice Act would increase the penalties so employers would have to think hard about firing union supporters—and it would help people fired during organizing drives get back to work sooner.
The press conference was organized by the San Francisco Labor Council. Pelosi was joined by Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson and Alameda County AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Cornu.
Paulson told the press conference:
Workers deserve to have the freedom to choose whether they want to form a union free from employer intimidation and coercion.
The legislation was introduced Feb. 5 by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and has the support of 233 co-sponsors. The House Education and Labor Committee voted Feb. 14 to advance the bill to the full House.
Click here to see details of the Employee Free Choice Act.
7 Comments
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There’s going to be a battle in the Senate about this one!
Would you please post the names of the 233 c0-sponsors. I want to see if my congressmen are among them. If they aren’t, I’ll organize an e-mail campaign to see if they can persuaded to get on board.
I am excited about the Employee Free Choice Act! I applaud our Democratic legislatures for making this top priority. I read a lot of stories from around the country about workers who try to secure decent living wages, quality health care and safe working conditions and are fired, disciplined and harassed for doing so. In Houston, where I live, we have had a lot of union activity; some success. The Baker’s union, however, is having a difficult time organizing 155 Fiesta bakery workers. One senior worker, after 22 years of loyal service and low pay, was accused of stealing and fired for signing up his co-workers. A recent campaign I was involved with resulted in several electricians getting fired, which scared the other workers from organizing. It would of been O.K. if the NLRB acted faster to return those men back to work, but instead, it took more than 3 months. Let’s give what our legisatures need to get this Act passed!
You can find a list of cosponsors at http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/cosponsors_
110.cfm
Props to my Congressman Brian Higgins of New York for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
The real problem’s going to be getting 60 votes in the senate.Then you’ll have to get a Bush clone to sign it.
I think this is the right step that our newest House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking to make the “American Free Choice Act” her priority that been the major problem in America.
I’m was sorry to read that WMUR-TV in Manchester long struggle to get a union and a first contract to be represented by the Electrical Workers was still force by their company for election before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) although; all eligible workers signed a card to make this happen.
Electricity is the problem of America today and hopefully the newest California Democratic will recognize this issue plus many more to all in the near future.