Legislative Updates

Employee Free Choice Act

In the coming months, the Employee Free Choice Act will again come before Congress. The Labor Council thanks Congressional Representatives Bob Filner and Susan Davis for again signing onto the bill as co-sponsors.

American Rights at Work, an organization dedicated to promoting the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain collectively, has produced two new commercials in support of the Employee Free Choice Act which will be part of a $3 million national television campaign.

These new ads serve as a reminder that in our current economic climate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class. The Employee Free Choice Act will help level the playing field for workers by making it easier for them to bargain with their employers for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. It will also help employees secure a contract in a reasonable period of time, and toughen penalties against employers who break the law.

A poll by Hart Research Associates released last week found that 73 percent of adults support passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, with 87 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents, and nearly half (48 percent) of self-identified Republicans favoring the legislation.