SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger was interviewed by the Brennan Center for Justice while attending "The Next Democracy" conference at the White Oak Conservancy Center in Florida. "When workers had a voice on the job, when unionization was high and one in three workers had a union, not only was it good for those workers, it lifted up everybody," said Burger in the interview. "It raised the standards across America in terms of wages, healthcare, retirement security and the ability to give our kids a better life."

Watch Anna as she discusses organized labor's role in democracy, as well as the Bush legacy.

My name is Roberta Ayala and I'm a teacher's assistant at Laradon Hall, a private organization in Denver, Colorado. I work with teenagers with severe emotional problems as well as non-verbal autistic children.

I help my students with basic personal and medical needs and provide academic support.

I love my students. And I love the advancements they are able to make. It's the most difficult most rewarding job I've ever had.

But we needed some changes in my workplace if we were going to really help move our students forward.

We didn't have enough teachers and teaching assistants to provide the one-on-one attention the students require. We had no voice in creating a better learning environment for kids. And we wanted additional training opportunities and better safety procedures to allow us to provide better care.

We also have a very high turnover rate. Our students need stable teaching staff to make real progress.

My co-workers and I raised our concerns multiple times but management dismissed us and no changes were ever made.

We knew the only way we were going to win a voice on the job was to form a union. That way we could make changes in the classroom and win improvements for our families.

I have a four year-old son. I want to give him the best life possible. I need a paycheck that can support us. I knew having a union would bring us closer to achieving the American Dream.

Eighty percent of us signed cards supporting the union. But the school refused to recognize our decision. We filed for an election and that's when management began harassing and intimidating us. They even fired several teachers' assistants--making our staffing problems even worse.

They wanted to scare us. They wanted us to give up. But it didn't work--we won our election.

Management continued their intimidation tactics even after we won our election. The facility experienced a 70 percent turnover in staff because of the campaign waged by management.

From the very beginning, my sole reason for having joined with my co-workers to form a union was for the safety and care of the kids. Imagine what it does to developmentally disabled children when they lose 70 percent of their caregivers.

Eighteen months after our election, we finally won our first contract. We finally won a voice in classroom decisions. But it shouldn't have been this hard to win improvements for our students.

It's time for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We can't wait any longer.

>> To read more about the new ad and grassroots campaign, "Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act," visit SEIU's blog here.

Today, the Politico debuted a special section online and in print about the Employee Free Choice Act. Asked what difference the Employee Free Choice would make, Stern responded, "It allows workers to negotiate with their employers. So when there are increases in productivity or increases in profits, [workers] get to share in the gain. They're clearly sharing in the pain right now, so the real issue is will they share in the gain? The Employee Free Choice Act gives them that chance."

SEIU President Andy Stern and the Chamber of Commerce's Steven Law take five questions in five minutes. Watch the Politico video here:

In The Arena, Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger explains why Congress should pass the Employee Free Choice Act through telling the story of Janneke Emery, a Washington state healthcare worker who, along with her coworkers, has struggled to gain a voice on the job.

Despite their election victory, a clear majority of support for the union and surviving an intense anti-union campaign, the hospital CEOs have denied Janneke and her coworkers the chance to sit down and bargain with their employer for a better workplace for themselves and their patients, and better lives for their families for over a year.

The Employee Free Choice Act gives workers the freedom to choose whether or not a union is right for their workplace, free from threats, intimidation by management, or even firing. The Act would mean bigger fines and harsher penalties for employers that violate the law.

Read Anna's entire response on Politico here. Check out Politico's special section on Employee Free Choice here.

SEIU members, community leaders and supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act rallied in San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento and Santa Rosa yesterday, arguing that a real economic stimulus package for California should make it easier for workers who want a union at work to have one. The events unveiled a new report from the Center for American Progress detailing how allowing workers more freedom to form unions would benefit California workers - and the state's economy. In California, wages for unionized workers were 12.7 percent higher--$2.74 dollars more per hour--than non-union workers with similar jobs during a four-year period between 2004 and 2007.

If unionization rates increased by just 5 percentage points from current levels, California workers would earn an estimated $3.7 billion more in wages per year. "Talk about a stimulus package?" commented Chris Benner, professor of regional economic development at UC Davis and SEIU ally, "This is close to $4 billion of added spending power in California!" States with low levels of unionization experienced almost twice as much job growth between 2001 and 2006 as those states with higher levels of unionization, according to a white paper published last year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to community leaders and experts, workers who belong to unions and or would like to join one shared their experiences about the benefits of unionization and the current obstacles in the way of workers. Members from SEIU Local 521 and Local 1021 also took part in yesterday's events advocating for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Joining a union is not only good for individual workers but it is good for the economy as a whole. As the national focus begins to shift from passage of the Economic Recovery Act to securing long-term solutions for rebuilding the middle class, it's not hard to see why workers want to join unions--wages go up, benefits go up, and working conditions improve.

This week, SEIU is launching our Change That Works campaign--a new state-by-state effort to bring economic relief to millions across the country, help fix the nation's broken healthcare system, and guarantee workers have the freedom to choose a voice at work. This campaign will be a massive, grassroots movement to turn America's unprecedented hope into unparalleled progress. SEIU has set aside $10 million to jumpstart Change That Works campaign efforts and will be mobilizing more than 1,000 members and staff to work full-time in 35 targeted states.

Andy Stern joined a live video chat broadcast on Ustream with bloggers and activists to discuss the campaign at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. Hundreds of viewers tuned in to watch and have their questions answered, thanks in part to two of the largest progressive blogs -- Daily Kos and AmericaBlog -- both linking to the stream along with a few others to help us get the word out.

Watch the Q & A video chat with Andy below:

SEIU Leader Shares First-hand Experiences Trying to Organize Detroit Fast Food Workers in the 1980s

In 1980, the United Labor Unions set out to organize employees at Detroit fast food chains in the hopes of sparking a nationwide movement to unionize the workforce in this fast-growing industry. As a rookie organizer working on the campaign, I learned firsthand what is at stake when workers stand up for better wages, healthcare, and a voice on the job.

We started with a Burger King franchise in Detroit's Greyhound station. While the drive was a challenge, the spark spread between employees as they encouraged each other to join the union and stand up to their managers. Greyhound Food Management ran a tough campaign to keep workers from organizing -- threatening some, making promises to others -- but didn't succeed. By a margin of just one vote, the Burger King employees opted to create a union.

Encouraged by our victory, we shifted our focus to three McDonald's franchises on Detroit's North Side. The employees were struggling with all kinds of issues -- minimum wage violations, sexual harassment, unfair scheduling, and health and safety issues ranging from grill burns to meat slicer injuries. Fed up and fired up, they decided to organize a union and won overwhelming support from their co-workers. Nothing could stop them.

Or so they thought.

This morning SEIU unveiled online advertising to promote the New York Times' recent support of the early passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads are running on the websites of The Hill, Roll Call, Politico, the Washington Post, and progressive blogs (see the ad on the right).

In late December 2008, the New York Times editorialized about unions and the Obama Administration's commitment to labor. The paper gave a full-throated endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act and why it is such an important part of an economic recovery program.

The Times wrote of the Employee Free Choice Act:

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay. There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important.

SEIU's online ads invite viewers to join the campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act.

'Twas the night before Christmas when Wal-Mart told the world it decided to settle 63 lawsuits to the tune of $640 million; most of those lawsuits alleged that Wal-Mart "underpaid its employees."

So what prompted the usually greedy Grinch to give more than half a billion dollars to its employees? It must've been a passing wind of Christmas Cheer, right?  No.

The Wall Street Journal says one reason Wal-Mart paid out $640 million is because the world's largest retailer wants to improve its image ahead of its fight against the Employee Free Choice Act.  Wal-Mart appears to be afraid of that legislation because it would give employees the free choice to join unions and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and retirement security - something Wal-Mart employees certainly don't have now.

Here's what the Wall Street Journal said about the settlements:

But there may be something else going on. Remember the Employee Free Choice Act? [...]

Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, suggested Wal-Mart wanted to settle the lawsuits not just to avoid potentially more costly defeats in the courtroom, but to resolve issues that might be used to argue for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation, expected to be considered by Congress next year, is fiercely opposed by Wal-Mart because the company worries it will make it easier for workers to unionize.

Wal-Mart is familiar with fighting the Employee Free Choice Act.  FEC complaints were filed against the company in August alleging that Wal-Mart told its employees to vote against Democrats such as now President-elect Barack Obama because of their support of the Employee Free Choice Act.  And current Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott told reporters this fall why he's against the Employee Free Choice Act.  From the WSJ:

Card check is about power. Management has it, workers don't, and business doesn't want that to change. Consider the remarks made by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott at an analyst meeting on Oct. 28, when he was asked about the possible coming of [the Employee Free Choice Act]: "We like driving the car and we're not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us."

But we will no longer get to enjoy the presence of Mr. Scott after February, as he is stepping down from leading the company in a surprise move announced just a month ago.  Long-time Wal-Mart operative Mike Duke will take over, giving Wal-Mart a fresh face to lead the company in 2009.  (And don't forget the company's brand new logo - goodbye smiley face, hello sunshine!)

Wal-Mart is evidently trying to spin itself a new image before it faces President-elect Obama and our new Congress to fight this important piece of our economic recovery program.

The Employee Free Choice Act can help raise wages and extend health insurance and retirement security to millions of people.  The New York Times, in an editorial this morning supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, said the Employee Free Choice Act is "vital legislation":

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. Even modest increases in the share of the unionized labor force push wages upward, because nonunion workplaces must keep up with unionized ones that collectively bargain for increases. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay. [...]

There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important. Without a united front, workers will have even less bargaining power in the recession than they had during the growth years of this decade, when they largely failed to get raises even as productivity and profits soared. If pay continues to lag, it will only prolong the downturn by inhibiting spending.

So now we have the world's largest employer fighting a "vital" piece of an economic recovery program, just to keep its employees making $10.32/hr - while its current CEO makes in excess of $16,000/hr. 

Even with CEO Lee Scott, $640 million in settlements, and the infamous Smiley logo going out the door with 2008, there's not enough lipstick sold at every Wal-Mart in the world to make this pig pretty.

Please join our campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act to help millions of working people in these tough economic times.

Above photo from Creative Commons Flickr user Lone Primate.

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.

Rally part of national campaign to restore middle class, fix broken health care system

As a part of a nationwide campaign to restore the American middle class, more than 400 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gathered yesterday at the University of Colorado-Aurora campus for a march to highlight the need for health care reform and legislation that will protect workers' rights to have a voice on the job. Participants also marched to support janitors fired from Carnation Building Services (a nonunion Aurora janitorial contractor) for participating in organizing drives and seeking union membership.

Leading the march was SEIU President Andy Stern. "We want change that works. That's why we're here today," Stern told the The Denver Post.

Speakers at the rally called for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers like those at Carnation to gain a voice at work without fear of intimidation or retaliation by their employers. According to a report by American Rights at Work, 51 percent of employers threaten to close down a work site when employees try to join together to form a union and an additional 30 percent unlawfully fire workers who support forming a union.

Tomorrow, more than 500 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will hold a rally at the Denver Convention Center to highlight the urgent need for health care reform and legislation that will protect workers' rights to have a voice on the job. In a worsening economic climate where CEOs continue to pay themselves 344 times more than workers on average, there has never been a more critical moment to establish a clear agenda to support the Employee Free Choice Act and help rebuild the middle class.