http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/06/19/thousands-rally-on-capitol-hill-for-employee-free-choice/Thousands Rally on Capitol Hill for Employee Free Choice
by James Parks, Jun 19, 2007
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0xSxjnIO80As the Senate began debating the Employee Free Choice Act today, more than 4,500 union members joined with Democrats in Congress, civil rights groups and progressives in the sweltering Washington, D.C., heat and humidity to let lawmakers know that passing this legislation is a top priority for America’s working families.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) says Employee Free Choice Act will pass in the Senate.
Carrying signs saying “Employee Free Choice Act Now!” and “Rebuild America’s Middle Class with Unions,” members of AFL-CIO and other unions and participants from the Take Back America conference gathered on Capitol Hill in a massive show of unity.
Gloria Prevost, a member of AFSCME Local 1012 in Pawtucket, R.I., who was in town for her union’s leadership conference, joined 2,000 delegates to AFSCME’s Legislative Conference at the rally. Says Prevost:
“This country was built on unions. Everybody should have a right to join a union. It’s important that people choose to join a union without being intimidated.”
Thousands of workers called for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Ray Embry, an 18-year-old retail worker from Mesa, Ariz., who was in town for the Take Back America conference, said he supports the Employee Free Choice Act because “unions are a big part of this country, and for a long time they have been marginalized.”
“There are a lot of industries that could use labor unions like the retail industry. I work at Target, and the Employee Free Choice Act would really help us.”
FULL story at link.