The Employee Free Choice Act ! Please sign it now!!

[Breeze54]

Very important! ;)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x312487

[Breeze54]

1. If you don't want to go to GD! lol

http://www.democrats.org/SupportFreeChoice

American workers need help - and there's something you can do about it.

Regardless of where you live or what you do, labor unions are our first line
of defense for worker's rights. What do they fight for? Raising the minimum wage.
Improving labor standards. Expanding health care benefits. Protecting retirement security.

And these fights don't only make a difference in the workplace: They are critical to providing
economic security for families, strengthening our communities and rebuilding America's middle class.
Every day, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules but are still struggling to get by.
Democrats understand the important role that labor unions play to fix this crisis.

Congress is set to debate a bill that will restore American workers' right to freely choose whether or
not to form a union.

Call on the White House to join the Democratic majority and support the Employee Free Choice Act:

http://www.democrats.org/SupportFreeChoice

The Employee Free Choice Act is a simple, effective solution to restore the right of workers
to form unions and bargain for better wages and benefits for themselves and their families.

It has three key provisions:

Require employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers sign
authorization cards saying they want union representation.

Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.

Strengthen penalties for companies that illegally intimidate employees
to prevent them from forming a union.

No management coercion, no waiting period, no stacked deck --
just the freedom for workers to stand up for their rights.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act,
but they may not be enough to pass the bill into law. On February 14, Vice President Cheney
told a meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers that Bush would use his second-ever
veto if the Employee Free Choice Act made it to his desk.

Big business is scared of the Employee Free Choice Act --
and that's why they're doing everything in their power to stop it.

75% of companies hire consultants or union-busters to fight organizing campaigns.
And their tactics work: every 23 minutes, a worker is fired or discriminated against
for supporting a union. All in all, over 22,000 workers each year are illegally fired,
demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work by their employers as a result
of union activity.

Why have our leaders in Washington allowed this to happen? Follow the money trail.

Stop them!! Sign now!! http://www.democrats.org/SupportFreeChoice

[Breeze54]

2. Wow....

All I ever read in this forum is about people and their kids
losing their jobs and I thought you'd all jump on this!

Now I'm totally confused by the lack of response!

[AmyDeLune]

4. Signed! n/t

[Breeze54]

6. WooHoo!!!!! YEAH!!!

Another vote for democracy!! :woohoo:

:)

[Kat45]

3. I just went over and signed it.

[Breeze54]

5. I'm glad to hear it!

My faith is restored! :)

We can't change anything unless we demand it! JMO!

The rethugs are just going to run roughshod over us as long as we let them.

I'm NOT letting them!!

Thanks for signing, notmyprez!

[Breeze54]

7. Morning kick!

:hi: Good Morning all!

Here! Have a :donut: and a :kick:

[terrya]

8. I signed.

My dad belonged to a union all of his life. I know first hand how important unions are.

[northzax]

9. I actually have a problem with this act

and I am pro-union, having been a member of two (AFT and NEA) in my time. I don't like the whole 'authorization card' idea. Yes, employers abuse the secret ballot process, but we need to crack down on that, not eliminate secret ballots. The fundamental bedrock of how our democracy is supposed to work is with secret ballots, it is when people's true desires, free of peer pressure and potential intimidation can come through. Do we really want the image of union supporters going to people's homes and asking them, in front of their peers, to sign a card asking for a union? it takes a strong person to say 'no' in those circumstances, even if they want to say 'no', which is, of course, their right.

[Breeze54]

10. It's a start.

Nothing is perfect.

[northzax]

11. so we should go with a bad idea

because 'it's a start'? come on.

[Breeze54]

12. Restoring workers Rights is NOT a bad idea!

What are you? Management or a GOP operative?

[northzax]

13. ah, the old strawman

excellent.

I believe that workers have the right to a secret ballot. You don't. You want everyone to know who signed a card and who didn't, right?

what is your problem with secret ballots? can you explain that?

on edit:

let me clarify.

protecting workers' rights = good thing.
elimination of secret ballots = bad thing

is a bad thing in pursuit of a good thing therefore good? Do the ends justify the means? not in my world.