Letter: Offer employees protection rights

The May 7 “card check” editorial opposing the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation restoring workers’ ability to form unions, offered no substantive reasons on why the bill must “fail.” In fact, it merely regurgitated worn-out attacks on unions coming from the very same corporate special interests that created the economic mess we’re in today.

So let’s set the record straight – the Employee Free Choice Act will not take away a worker’s right to a secret ballot. It will level the playing field by letting employees, not their bosses, choose how to form a union. It’s no surprise workers would prefer the majority sign-up process, because under the current secret ballot election process that the editorial board so reveres, employer misbehavior is rampant: 57 percent of employers threaten to close the worksite, 47 percent threaten to cut wages and benefits, and 34 percent fire workers for supporting a union. The system is broken and in need of real reform.

That’s why passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is so important and over 1,000 business leaders around the nation support it. They understand that when workers have the ability to join unions so they can negotiate for better pay, benefits, and job security, it benefits their own bottom line. That’s good for workers, good for business, and ultimately good for our nation’s long-term economic recovery.

Kimberly Freeman

Acting Executive Director,

American Rights at Work

Washington, DC