Thursday, June 19, 2008


AMERICAN LABOUR:
SUPPORT THE 'EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT':
The following is an appeal from the American Rights at Work coalition. This group is pretty much an emanation of "official labour" in the USA, with all that that implies. In particular it implies that they have an over reliance upon "official" dictates and "government policy" and an under reliance(and often a justified fear-from their point of view- of) upon self directed movements of ordinary people. All that being said the "legislative climate" in which organization amongst ordinary people takes place does have an influence on how difficult it is to do such organizing. Legislation such as the union supported 'Employee Free Choice Act' would help to level the playing field as workers attempt to gain what is rightfully theirs. It therefore deserves support. The following is for our American readers.
.............................

Strength in numbers‏

It's all about strength in numbers:
A million voices for the Employee Free Choice Act... and millions more workers joining unions and raising living standards for all of us.
Sign the petition!

Who’s losing out in this sputtering economy?
Not corporate CEOs. Too many of them have made sure to secure a golden parachute for themselves while workers face soaring health care costs, foreclosures, and an uncertain future.

The Employee Free Choice Act would help level the playing field and get our economy back on track. That's why we've launched a huge campaign to get one million people to support this bill and tell Congress it’s time for change!

The Employee Free Choice Act would give more workers the chance to negotiate for better benefits, wages, and working conditions by forming unions.

And that will help all of us. There's strength in numbers, and as we build our collective muscle, we can raise living standards, improve health care, and stop corporate America's race to the bottom.

But some CEOs try to stop unions, preventing their workers from negotiating a contract. In fact, 30% of corporations fire pro-union workers during union organizing drives.1 Of course, no CEO would agree to work without a contract. So why can’t their workers have the same rights?

It’s time to bring back some fairness. That's why we need one million voices supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. But a million people is a LOT of people. We won't reach our goal without YOUR friends and family.

Anti-union groups are mounting a campaign to fight this bill. We can’t match our opponents dollar-for-dollar, but we can prevail if enough people rally to this important cause.

The economy should work for all of us, not just the privileged few. We can get there with your help.

Sincerely,
Liz Cattaneo
American Rights at Work

P.S. To learn more about the Employee Free Choice Act, click here.

1 Chirag Mehta and Nik Theodore, Undermining the Right to Organize: Employer Behavior During Union Representation Campaigns, Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Dec. 2005.

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