More than 300 activists from 15 states converged on Capitol Hill on Thursday to tell their elected leaders that workers need and deserve meaningful labor law reform. The diverse group of small business owners, veterans, farmers, students, faith leaders, civil rights activists, women's advocates, and environmentalists are uniting in one voice to remind lawmakers why the Employee Free Choice Act is vital to rebuilding our economy.

New Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Tom Harkin, kicked off the lobby day at a morning press conference with a speech to the state delegations. Senator Harkin shared a personal story of his brother fighting for union rights and confirmed his commitment to passing the Employee Free Choice Act, saying saying "When I tell you in unequivocal terms that the Employee Free Choice Act is a priority, you can take that to the bank!"

Watch highlights from Sen. Harkin's speech here:

The advocates from states including AK, ND, NE, MT, MO, WI, ME, PA, CO and CA also shared some reasons why they came to Washington--and why all progressives should support the Employee Free Choice Act.

"I am a small business owner here to help bring our message to Capitol Hill. We want justice for rural workers in North Dakota--they deserve proper pay for what they do. We want change in our working environment."

"I'm proud to be here with [all these] major activists from four major Pennsylvania cities...We want to stand for Free Choice. We are so financially strapped with workers in PA we had to have a paper flag here today--we couldn't afford to buy a cloth flag. We are here to fight for Employee Free Choice today."

"Everyone acknowledges the system is broken and justice delayed or justice deferred, is always in the end result, justice denied. We are here to provide justice for workers. All of those workers see very simply that as an issue of justice, the faith community really has to step up make it very clear the moral imperatives of this legislation."

Call the Senate now for Employee Free Choice.

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With Labor Day right around the corner, we wanted to catch you up on what SEIU and our allies have been up to over the last few weeks. From opposition groups confusing their Congressmen to new studies and reports from the states, keep reading for a full recess round-up on Employee Free Choice.

Note to Michigan Anti-Free Choice Group: Next Time, Try Wikipedia? The Jackson Patriot, a local Michigan paper, reported in August about an interesting situation that the Michigan Manufacturers recently found themselves in. "Recently, a billboard went up along Boardman Road, visible from I-94, to urge Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson to vote against the Employee Free Choice Act. Some smart guy realized that even though Peterson represents the 7th Congressional District, this is Michigan, and painted over the last two letters in his name. So now it urges U.S. Rep. Gary Peters to vote no. Right state this time, still the wrong Congressman. Eventually, I'm guessing the Michigan Manufacturers Association will want the billboard it paid for to urge U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, who represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District, to vote against the union-backed legislation."

New York Times: Low Wage Workers Are Often Cheated, Study Says. A new study, "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers" based on a survey of workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, shows that low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage. Furthermore, "One in five workers reported having lodged a complaint about wages to their employer or trying to form a union in the previous year, and 43 percent of them said they had experienced some form of illegal retaliation, like firing or suspension, the study said." Read the full article here.

Exposed: MT Hair Salons Denying Workers A Right To A Union Before They Are Formed. As reported in both the Great Falls Tribune and The New York Times, a former manager of a hair salon in Great Falls came forward with her story about Regis Corporation asking its employees to sign documents nullifying any union cards they may sign in a future organizing campaign. While Regis claims the cards are being circulated to protect workers' rights to a secret ballot election, the former manager, Keri Gorder said, "I thought it was taking our right away before we ever exercised that right." And a leading labor expert described this tactic as illegal. Read more about it here: and here.

Labor Day List: Partnerships That Work. This week, ARAW released their yearly showcase of employers who "walk the walk when it comes to respecting their own workers' rights, and now they are going a step further by standing up on behalf of all U.S. workers. Every business profiled herein has spoken out on the need for meaningful labor law reform to ensure men and women have decent opportunities and their rights protected." These businesses include: American Income Life Insurance Company, Ivory Leathers, Inc, McGuire Scenic, Morton Williams Supermarkets, Print and Copy Center, Raymond's Painting and Decorating, West Sheet Metal Company, and Wisconsin Vision, Inc. See the full list of employers that have a successful relationships with their employee's labor unions.

No Coercion in Majority Sign-up. In their "Economic Snapshot" for the week of August 19th, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) focused in on a lack of evidence of how majority sign-up or "card check" leads to coercion. Although Employee Free Choice opponents argue that unions will coerce employees to sign authorization cards or obtain a majority through fraud, a recent report, however, "suggests that this claim is frivolous." In fact, "a study of four states--Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and New York--that have had majority sign-up for public sector employees for many years failed to turn up a single meritorious case of coercion or fraud in more than 1,000 majority sign-up campaigns involving 34,000 employees between 2003 and 2009." More here.

Young Workers: A Lost Decade. In a new nationwide survey of young workers released earlier this week, the AFL-CIO found that more than one in three young workers say they are currently living at home with their parents, 31 percent of young workers reports being uninsured, up from 24 percent without health insurance coverage 10 years ago, and one-third of young workers cannot pay the bills and seven in 10 do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses. Full report here; read more about the survey here.

ARAW Employee Free Choice Lobby Day. Next week, over 200 progressive activists from 15 states--including small business owners, faith leaders, veterans, farmers and students will travel to Washington and meet with their members of Congress to discuss the reasons we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

If you would like more information about next week's lobby day, please let us know.

Workers join together and unionize to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Yet a full year after voting to form a union, 52 percent of new unions still haven't been able to secure any improvements because their employers have used delay tactics to avoid signing a first contract.

It stands to reason that if a majority of workers vote to form a union in their workplace, then a union they shall have! Yet the sad reality is that all too often, employers do not respect the outcomes of union elections. The current labor law is grossly slanted in favor of employers and anti-union corporations who engage in unproductive "bad faith bargaining" or delay tactics to keep workers from getting a fair deal. The resistance to collective bargaining has only gotten worse in recent years. Even in cases when workers do successfully win their union election, over half of of new unions still have no contract one full year later after they are certified because companies refuse to negotiate in good faith. And two years later, 37 percent of workers still have no contract.

Congress needs to stand up for the workers who deserve the chance to gain fair first contracts. As a new ad by American Rights at Work points out, any legislation to reform our current labor system must include an arbitration option to push management to complete negotiations in a fair, timely manner---and stop anti-union corporations from gaming the system.

This is the third ad in the series by ARAW making the case for arbitration as a critical part of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ad will run in Roll Call, The Hill, Politico and CQ. Read more about ARAW's ad campaign and view their first two ads here.

As more and more working Americans struggle to make ends meet, the ability to form a union is key to the economic stability, health, and well-being of American families. According to a poll released by Hart Research last week, a substantial majority of Americans (73 percent) support the Employee Free Choice Act as part of the common sense solutions critical to economic recovery and rebuilding the middle class.

A new national TV campaign launched today by American Rights at Work in support of the Employee Free Choice Act continues the call to action that it's time our economy worked for everyone. The ads feature workers making their case for the legislation and focus on the fact that Employee Free Choice will grant working people the power to bargain for better wages, benefits and increased job security.

The spots will air for two weeks on national cable TV shows CNN, MSNBC, Comedy Central (during The Daily Show and The Colbert Report) and during the Sunday talk shows--hopefully reaching wide audiences to educate the public on why this legislation is such an intrinsic part of the hope and change the American people voted for on Election Day.

Watch the tv ads:

Ad #1 - "Hope and Change"

Ad Transcript:
Worker #1: I hope to have some health care...for a change.
Worker #2: I hope to work just one job....for a change.
Worker #3: I hope to be able to save a little....for a change.
Voice over: We voted on Election Day for hope and change. Now it's time for action. The Employee Free Choice Act lets workers choose to join a union to earn better pay, health benefits and job security...The Employee Free Choice Act. It's time the economy worked for everyone again.

Ad #2 - "We Don't Ask"

Ad Transcript:
Worker #1: We're not CEOs making millions.
Worker #2: We don't have golden parachutes or option plans.
Worker #3: What we have is our hands, our hearts and our work ethic.
Worker #4: We are America's workforce.
Worker #5: The men and women who keep our economy going.
Worker #6: All we ask for is a level playing field.
Voice over: The Employee Free Choice Act will let workers choose to form a union to get better pay, health benefits and job security... The Employee Free Choice Act. It's time the economy worked for everyone again.

Read more about the many ways the Employee Free Choice Act will help get our economy back on track.