http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/06/18/employee-free-choice-act-bottom-line-americas-workers/Employee Free Choice Act Bottom Line: America’s Workers
by Tula Connell, Jun 18, 2007
As we fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 1041) in the Senate in coming days, we all are keeping in mind the bottom line for passage of the bill: America’s workers. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would address all of the situations described below—worker harassment and firing for union activity, delays in the union election process and employer foot-dragging in negotiating a first contract. Below are a few workers’ stories—with many more here.
Debbie Fontaine operates forklifts and packs and moves boxes for shipping at the Rite Aid Distribution Center in Lancaster, Calif. The warehouse has no air circulation despite intense humidity and temperatures in the high 80s. But when Fontaine, an active union supporter, sought to form a union with her co-workers to improve these conditions, Fontaine’s boss called her into his office to scream at her while pounding his fists on his desk and calling her names. In August 2006, Fontaine was fired. As she says: “A lot of employees are afraid that if Rite Aid fired me, they will fire everyone who supports the union.”
Greg Mendez is an office systems coordinator at New York’s Pace University. In 2004, Mendez and his co-workers sought to form a union with the New York State United Teachers/AFT. They wanted a transparent salary structure and grievance procedure in place of the university’s arbitrary system of pay raises and promotions. In response, the university hired anti-worker consultants to run meetings several times a day. Union supporters who tried to speak up at these meetings were publicly attacked. “People got nervous, really nervous,” says Mendez. “You would have thought we were trying to overthrow the government.” Three years later, Pace University workers still are fighting the administration’s campaign of intimidation.
Bonny Wallace has been a nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Ore., for 20 years. Wallace says the hospital has taken more and more patients but has not hired more nurses—meaning many nurses put in mandatory overtime and work 12-hour shifts without lunch breaks. Although Wallace and her co-workers successfully formed a union with the Oregon Nurses Association/United American Nurses—despite the hospital’s campaign of fear and misinformation—management has stalled contract negotiations. One year after having their union certified, Wallace and her co-workers still have no contract.
In the end, it’s all about workers making better lives for themselves and their families.
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