On the morning of March 6, 2007, Eleazar Torres-Gomez was killed when he tried to unjam an industrial conveyor belt at an Oklahoma plant of Cintas, an industrial laundry company.

He was dragged into an operating industrial dryer, and trapped inside it for twenty minutes. Alone on the Cintas factory floor, no one could hear Eleazar's screams as he was smothered and cooked to death inside the dryer, which reached temperatures of up to 300'F.

It didn't have to happen. You see, Eleazar did not have the free choice to join a union, so no one could negotiate with his employer, Cintas, for safety precautions that could have saved his life.

Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren opposes giving workers the free choice to join a union. He opposes giving fellow Oklahomans like Eleazar Torres-Gomez the ability to negotiate for safety precautions that save lives.

This is not acceptable. Watch this video about Rep. Dan Boren and safety and Cintas, and then tell Dan Boren to protect Oklahoma's working families.

Click here to watch the video and take action: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/boren

Here's the thing, though. Workers at Cintas' leading competitor, Aramark, have the proper safety equipment and precautions in place. Why? Because laundry workers at Aramark had the free choice to join a union, which fought for the very safety measures that could have saved Eleazar's life. Today Aramark has the proper precautions in place.

Under the Employee Free Choice Act, workers would have the free choice to join a union so they can negotiate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

But corporate special interests are spending *millions* of dollars on lies, propaganda and twisting arms -- all in a desperate, greedy bid to keep hard-working Oklahomans like you from sharing in the American Dream.

And Rep. Dan Boren is more than happy to help those corporate interests.

Tell Dan Boren to give Oklahomans like the Torres-Gomez family the kind of representation they deserve. Ask him to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

http://action.seiu.org/boren

The stakes couldn't be higher. Giving us a fair chance to bargain for better pay, benefits and job security will help restore our struggling middle class and make our economy work for all of us.

It's time for Dan Boren to stand up for people like us.

Today, the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress. Want some great reasons to support this bill that you've been hearing so much about? Here's five. (And if you already support it, please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to do the same.)

1. Because more jobs should be good jobs.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, it's no surprise that millions of Americans are out of work, losing their health care or their retirement money, or are otherwise in financial straits. Times are tough. And who's taking this economic crisis on the chin? Well, we are, of course.

Four million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007. It's not for lack of trying. In terms of productivity, people are working harder than ever-- but American workers still haven't gotten a raise. And while jobs and wages are down, the cost of living continues to rise: The average cost of family health insurance plan will go up to $24,000 by 2016. $24,000!

The Employee Free Choice Act says that workers should have the ability to bargain with their employers for better wages and benefits--like affordable quality health care.

2. It's good for the economy.

One of the biggest reasons for our current economic crisis? People literally don't have the cash they need to buy goods and services--which would in turn help the economy. Higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. According to a February report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, unionization could pump more than $49 billion into the economy.

But don't take it just from us. Last month, forty leading economists, including three Nobel prize winners, took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post offering their reasons for supporting the bill. In the ad, they argued that one of the main reasons for our economic slump is the "erosion of workers' ability to form unions and bargain collectively," that shifted the wealth of our country from "broadly-shared prosperity" to "growing inequality."

3. Barack Obama loves it, and so do most of you.

Not to mention Joe Biden, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and majorities in both houses of Congress. And according to recent polling, 73% of the public supports it. Just last week, speaking in front of a labor gathering, President Obama vowed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, stating,

"I have every confidence that if we are willing to do the difficult work that must be done, we will emerge from these trials stronger and more prosperous than we were before. And as we confront this crisis and work to provide health care to every American, rebuild our nation's infrastructure, move toward a clean energy economy, and pass the Employee Free Choice Act, I want you to know that you will always have a seat at the table."

What's not to love about that?

4. Because CEOs should be helping workers, not hurting them.

Want to get really depressed about your paycheck? Compare it to a CEO's. As a testament to the growing income disparity between CEOs and the workers they employ, look no further than Wal-Mart's former CEO, Lee Scott. Scott earned $15,000 an hour in 2007 while Wal-Mart workers earned just $10.68 an hour. On average, CEOs earn 344 times what their typical employee makes.

And yet, when Goldman Sachs received $10 billion in Wall St. bailout funds, they turned around and spent $6.5 billion on bonuses! If the Employee Free Choice Act passed, workers would have more of an opportunity to share in the prosperity they helped create.

5. Because the other side is really scary.

Or at least, they're trying their hardest to scare us. The corporate interests opposing the Employee Free Choice Act have warned of everything from rioting in the streets to, literally, Armageddon if the bill passes. For a sense of just how extreme the other side has gotten, check out our "scary movie" video here:

Corporate interests are bent on lying about the Employee Free Choice Act - they'd have you believe that the bill means the end of the secret ballot - but nothing could be further from the truth. The Employee Free Choice Act simply gives employees the choice to join unions - not the employers. Right now, workers can join unions through majority sign-up or a secret ballot election, and they can do so under the Employee Free Choice Act, too. The only difference is it will be the employees' choice, not the employers.

But don't take it from me - watch Rachel Maddow destruct this argument:

If you're as fired up as we are, go to SEIU.org and sign up to help. It's time for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Crossposted from the Huffington Post here.

Physicians Seek to Save Their Programs, Hospital from Closure

Last week, interns and residents at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn, NY unanimously voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) of SEIU Healthcare, coming together to have a voice at their hospital and on behalf of their patients.

Despite being a well-regarded and essential community hospital, the Manhattan-based management of Brooklyn's Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is in the process of planning to close down multiple programs and sell off some of the hospital's buildings:

"I was part of a CIR union chapter in Miami, and it definitely makes a difference," said Dr. Lilliam Villafredez, a resident in Internal Medicine. "It's our right as residents to have a voice."

CIR will continue to work with and win union representation for the remaining 90 residents, who are paid by LICH but work at other hospitals. Resident physicians at LICH, together with CIR will continue to work with the community to ensure that vital programs like maternity and pediatric care remain open.