Everyone's jumping on the train. Today 155 Pennsylvania college & university professors signed a letter asking Sen. Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

The letter notes that Pennsylvania's middle class needs the act because it'll empower them to bargain for fair wages and benefits, and in turn, will help the economy recover.

In their letter, the academics state:

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.

The full text of the letter to Senator Specter is below.

Sociology professor Daisy Rooks of the University of Montana put the Employee Free Choice Act in its proper perspective with her glowing endorsement atop the editorial page of The Missoulian.

Too often the forces against America's working families derail true debate by posing false -- but seemingly powerful and righteous -- concerns. Does Free Choice deprive workers of the secret ballot?

No. Under today's laws, the "secret ballot" requested by employers is a sham. It's a way for employers to intimidate and fire pro-union workers to rig the election.