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Dec. 10 Human Rights Petition
Today, human rights are at risk all over the world, including here in the United States. This Dec. 10, as the world celebrates International Human Rights Day, it is especially important for America’s working families to renew our commitment to a fundamental human right at grave risk: our freedom to form unions.
Americans’ freedom to form unions is under constant attack by the Bush administration, congressional leadership and Big Business, who are fighting constantly to weaken labor laws, protect employers who abuse workers and stand in the way of workers who want to exercise their rights to organize and bargain.
Sign our Petition to Restore Human Rights for America’s Workers and state your commitment to our freedom to form unions as a fundamental human right.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Petition to Restore Human Rights for America's Workers
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
America's working families are suffering. Job loss and poverty are going up, while paychecks, pensions and health care benefits are dwindling. These problems are the direct result of an attack on a basic human right: the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.
More than 50 years ago, the United Nations included the freedom to form a union among fundamental human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the Bush administration and leaders in Congress have aligned themselves with corporate special interests to promote policies that erode workers' rights. The Bush administration, in fact, is fighting to strip collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
Fifty-seven million workers in America say they would join a union now if they could. Employers routinely block workers' efforts to join together in unions, and America's labor laws are too weak to protect this basic right. Human Rights Watch has flagged the denial of workers' freedom to form unions in the United States as a serious human rights issue.
Violations of the Declaration of Human Rights threaten the lives, rights and welfare of millions in the United States and around the world. The abuse of human rights by our government and employers undermines America's international moral standing and our democracy.
Therefore, as we approach International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, we the undersigned call on President George W. Bush to re-establish the United States as the world's leader in protecting human rights, including the freedom of all citizens of the world to form and join unions. We also call on the U.S. Congress to adopt the Employee Free Choice Act, which would help restore U.S. workers' rights to freely choose to form unions and bargain fair contracts.
Signed by:
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