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Part Two of Talk-Radio Show Host Jackie Guerra's Op-Ed piece on worker's rights.
(Click here to read the first half of this article by Jackie Guerra.) A growing, bipartisan coalition of policymakers supports the Employee Free Choice Act--proposed legislation that would ensure that workers have a free choice and a fair chance to form a union. The Employee Free Choice Act would strengthen penalties against offending employers, require mediation and arbitration to help employers and employees reach a first contract in a reasonable period of time, and permit workers to form a union through “majority sign-up,” a process in which workers present signed authorization cards as demonstration of their choice to belong to a union. This legislation restores workers’ rights the same way we eat tortillas, one by one. And to my business-minded amigos, the Employee Free Choice Act is just good business policy. Don’t take my word for it— look at some of the most successful companies in America. Companies like Kaiser Permanente and Cingular Wireless are in real-life labor-management partnerships. Many CEOs of successful companies see unions as an asset, not an obstacle, and lead their companies to respect workers’ rights. Throughout America, there is evidence that workers want unions. The Employee Free Choice Act would help to make sure that they have a free choice and a fair chance to belong to one. As a former organizer for the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in Los Angeles, I am proud of the hotel workers who are engaging in hunger strikes and going to jail to fight for their rights. But come on; in America you shouldn’t have to starve yourself or go to jail to be treated fairly. I know we can do better. Sixty million workers say that they want to join a union. If they could form one without it risking their livelihoods, they would join tomorrow. Union workers earn almost a third more, and they are two-thirds more likely to have health insurance and therefore decent healthcare. This is the first generation where young people fear that they are going to be worse off than the generation before. The Employee Free Choice Act is a remedy that could turn that trend around. It’s pretty obvious that the system designed to protect workers is broken. Once upon a time, the labor movement helped build the middle class. It is time to fix this broken system and support the Employee Free Choice Act. It gives free choice to America’s workers and democracy to the workplace. It restores the rights upon which this country was founded, and helps move the middle class forward. Si se puede!
The copyright of the article Employee Free Choice Act, Pt. 2 in Workplace Culture is owned by Melissa Dylan. Permission to republish Employee Free Choice Act, Pt. 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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