Sen. Specter chose his affiliation; workers should be able to, as well

[Omaha Steve]

http://postgazette.com/pg/09126/967856-109.stm

Wednesday, May 06, 2009
By William M. George and Jack Shea

Last week we witnessed an amazing example of American democracy in action. Simply by exercising his freedom of association, Sen. Arlen Specter changed his political party affiliation and joined the Democratic Party. Mr. Specter took advantage of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. And, in a classic moment of pure irony, in the same speech announcing his decision to switch parties, he reiterated his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act guarantees workers the right to join a union simply by indicating that they want to be part of one, the same way Mr. Specter joined the Democratic Party. This is America. It should not take a new law to guarantee workers the right to freely associate in a labor union, but too often workers are denied the basic rights most Americans take for granted.

Our nation's labor laws are broken, and working people have lost the freedom to improve their lives through collective bargaining and unions.

Employers routinely violate workers' rights, and current law is helpless to stop them. According to Cornell University research, a quarter of employers illegally fire workers who try to form a union, and half threaten to shut down if their workers choose a union.

What's the penalty? Guilty companies are ordered to post a sign saying they broke the law and are occasionally made to pay a worker's lost wages. That's it.

The failure of our system to protect workers' collective action is a tragedy for both our democracy and economy. Working men and women who are part of unions have a real say over their livelihood and work life. They're 52 percent more likely to have health insurance than people without a union, three times more likely to have a pension and much more likely to bring home a bigger paycheck. In fact, the single best ticket to the middle class for today's workers is a union card.

FULL story at link.

[GKirk]

1. On the other hand...

...wouldn't that give the right to current union members to opt out of belonging to the unions that currently cover their companys?

[Omaha Steve]

2. Union members have the right to decertify any union anytime

They can also switch unions if they so choose. Simple majority of 50% + 1 rules.

OS

[stray cat]

3. Hopefully people would get just a little bit more privacy on their choice than Spector