Pennsylvania Scholars in Support of the Employee Free Choice Act

June 1, 2009

Dear Senator Specter:

The undersigned faculty members work throughout the state of
Pennsylvania in its universities and colleges. We are writing to
support passage of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. As both
academics and Pennsylvania voters, we strongly encourage you to
reconsider your stance on the measure, to oppose any amendments that
may weaken its potential to help American workers and their
communities, and to enable its passage in the Senate. We are not alone
among your constituents in placing a high priority on your support of
this measure.

We consider this amendment to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
to be critical for not only the working people of this state but also
the economy as a whole. If we want to continue to promote good living
standards, we need to support workers' rights to decide whether or not
they want a union. Studies show that most workers would join a union
if they had the opportunity. Workers in unions earn better pay and
benefits than their non-union counterparts but only if they get a
contract. We need the Employee Free Choice Act in order to ensure that
workers get the unions they want and the first contracts they deserve,
free from today's corporate-dominated process that subjects them to
threats, illegal firings, coercion and delay.

It is long overdue for us to return to a labor-relations model that
respects workers' rights to choose a union and encourages collective
bargaining once they have done so. When the NLRA passed in 1935, the
leaders of Congress understood the importance of protecting workers'
right to choose unionization through the use of authorization cards.
With our current economic crisis, it is now more urgent than ever that
you and the other members of Congress have the vision to stop the
erosion of workers' rights. We need leaders to look for ways that
place well-paid people alongside corporate profits as indicators of
economic prosperity. The Employee Free Choice Act will do just that by
promoting a path to greater workplace fairness and middle-class living
standards. We urge you to support this bill in its current form, and
we look forward to its enactment in the near future.

Sincerely,

Nora Ambrosio, Slippery Rock University
Claire Al. Andrews, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Mark Anner, Pennsylvania State University
George S. Apaliski, Pennsylvania State University
Mark Aune, California University of Pennsylvania
Wendy Warren Austin, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Ruth Baker, Community College of Philadelphia
Nina Banks, Bucknell University
Regina Bannan, Temple University
Trudy Bantle, Pennsylvania State University
Chuck Barone, Dickinson College
Frank Bartell, Community College of Philadelphia
Sherrill J. Begres, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Michael Bibby, Shippensburg University
Paul A. Bove, University of Pittsburgh
Jerome Branche, University of Pittsburgh
John W. Braxton, Community College of Philadelphia
Ken Burak, Northampton Community College
Patrick Burkhart, Slippery Rock University
Mary Ellen Byrne, Retired From Ocean County College of NJ
Antonio Callari, Franklin and Marshall College
Mary Jo Campbell, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Bruce Candlish, Bloomsburg University
Jerry Carbo, Shippensburg University, Grove College of Business
Mary Panicia Carden
Lynn Carson, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Merlin Chowkwanyun, University of Pennsylvania
Beverly A. Cigler, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
Paul F. Clark, Pennsylvania State University
Deborah Cohen, Slippery Rock University
Joann Corn, Bucks County Community College
Debra Cornelius, Shippensburg University
Cornelius Cosgrove, Slippery Rock University
Richard S. Courtney, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Walt Cressler, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Pauline P Cullen, Dickinson College
Patricia Norred Derr, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Amy Dietz, Pennsylvania State University
Pamela Donovan, Bloomsburg University
Paul Durrenberger, Pennsylvania State University
Stuart Eimer, Widener University
John Enyeart, Bucknell University
Kathleen Evans, Pennsylvania State University
Margaret Evans, Shippensburg University
Sean Flaherty, Franklin and Marshall College
Rosemary Fliszar, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Corbin Fowler, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Michael Friedman, University of Scranton
Robert Raymond Galaskas, Harrisburg Area Community College
Ayan K Gangopadhyay, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Barry George, Community College of Philadelphia
Thomas Gibbon, Shippensburg University
Lonnie Golden, Pennsylvania State University - Abington
Sara Goodkind, University of Pittsburgh
Tom Gordo, Slippery Rock University
Rick Goulet, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Maurine Greenwald, University of Pittsburgh
Stephen M. Gulick, Community College of Philadelphia
Christopher P. Hallen, Bloomsburg University
Pat Hansell, Temple University
Lucy C. Harlow, Pennsylvania State Education Association
Paul Heise, Lebanon Valley College
William A. Hendricks, California University of Pennsylvania
Marc Henley, West Chester University/Delaware County Community College
Edward S. Herman, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School
Glenn Hider, California University of Pennsylvania
Richard Z. Hindle, Pennsylvania State University
Arthur Hochner, Temple University
Tamara Hollins, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Vincent Hron, Bloomsburg University
Sarah Jaffe, Temple University
Elaine B. Jenks, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Jones, Community College of Philadelphia
Perry Kacik, Pennsylvania State University
Seth Kahn, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Michael B. Katz, University of Pennsylvania
David Kazanjian, University of Pennsylvania
Camilia Keach, Temple University
Terry Kilpatrick, Temple University
Charles Kimber, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Klaus, Community College of Beaver County
Elliot Koffman, Temple University
Ben Kohl, Temple University
Jered Kolbert, Slippery Rock University
James Korsh, Temple University
David Kristjanson-Gural, Bucknell University
William Kulik, Temple University
Paul S. Lafollette, Jr, Temple University
David Lambkin, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Ian M. Langella, Shippensburg University
John Latourell, Delaware County Community College
Wendy Lynne Lee, Bloomsburg University
Carl Letsche, California University of Pennsylvania
Dan Letwin, Pennsylvania State University
Mary Libertin, Shippensburg University
Sue Ellen Liebman, Community College of Philadelphia
Thomas Lord, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Charles L Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State University
Graham Macphee, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Neepa Majumdar, University of Pittsburgh
John Markoff, University of Pittsburgh
Yvette Marquez-Pribitkin
Thomas Mastrilli, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Scott Mcclellan, Temple University
Itzi Meztli, Slippery Rock University
John A. Mills, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Beth Jo Mullaney, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Leslie C. Patrick, Bucknell University
Ruth Perkins, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Krish Pillai, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Loring Prest, California University of Pennsylvania
Bruce Rader, Temple University
Anthony Ranere, Temple University
Marcus Rediker, University of Pittsburgh
Lee Rexrode, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Samuel M. Richards, Pennsylvania State University
Hong Rim, Shippensburg University
Bruce L. Rockwood, Bloomsburg University
Del Rounds, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Francis Ryan, Moravian College
Susan E. Safford, Lincoln University
Karen Schermerhorn, Community College of Philadelphia
Stuart M. Schmidt, Temple University, Fox School of Business
Joel Schoening, Shippensburg University
Pascal Scoles, Community College of Philadelphia
Evan Seymour, Community College of Philadelphia
Robert Shaffer, Shippensburg University
Darla Shields
Anne Shlay, Temple University
David R. Shumway, Carnegie Mellon University
Michael Skelly, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Gerald Soslau, Drexel University College of Medicine
Cynthia Spielman, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Carolyn Steglich, Slippery Rock University
Carol Stein, Community College of Philadelphia
Susan Stone, Shippensburg University
Julie Story
Dana L. Stuchul, Pennsylvania State University
Thomas J. Sugrue, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen J. Sullivan, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Lynn Spadine Taylor, Slippery Rock University
William Michael Townes, Pennsylvania State University
Allan D. Turner, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Rick Valelly, Swarthmore College
Julianne Albiero-Walton, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Charles R. Warner, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Helen Webb, University of Pennsylvania
Alex. Weilenmann, University of Pittsburgh
Harold Weiss, Northampton Community College
Daniel J. West, Jr., University of Scranton
Sarah Wheeler, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Paul Whitehead, Pennsylvania State University
Lee Williams, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Philip K. Wion, University of Pittsburgh
Michael Yates, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Institutional affiliations are provided for purposes of identification
only and do not represent endorsement of this letter by the
organizations listed.