MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act played a role in Tuesday's elections.

Corporate lobbyist-backed groups like the Workforce Fairness Institute and other conservatives made the fact-free claim that Tuesday's elections were a referendum on the Employee Free Choice Act. Wrote WFI in an email to supporters:

National issues played heavily in The Old Dominion and no issue played more of a role in the debate than the Employee 'Forced' Choice Act or EFCA.

The Truth? Exit polls showed 71% of voters named health care or the economy as their number one issue Tuesday. And despite the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others' millions in spending to make Employee Free Choice an issue in last November's elections, they failed to have an impact there as well: a majority of voters stated that they supported the legislation, and that it was not a significant factor in their vote.

FACT: Workers who want to form a union routinely face harassment from their employers.

Lowe's employee breakroom signs against Employee Free Choice

After Lowe's Home Improvement settled last month (for nearly $30 million) a class action suit for requiring workers to work "off the clock," workers were greeted with the sign to the right in their workplace breakroom--a not-so-subtle reminder of the company's position on giving workers a voice on the job.

Employer intimidation continues to be a problem, and it's nothing new: according to a study by Cornell labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner, 34 percent of the time workers try to form a union, their employers fire union supporters. Sixty three percent of the time companies interrogate workers, 54 percent of the time they threaten union supporters, and 47 percent of the time they threaten to cut workers' wages and benefits.

It's a very tense evening in Puerto Rico tonight--you can feel it in the streets and towns around the Island. Tomorrow the workers' movement and its allies will face a showdown with the Government police and paramilitary forces, as the general strike called to protest massive layoffs in the public service will begin in the early hours of the day.

Just three weeks ago, Republican governor Luis Fortuño announced that nearly 17,000 public servants would be fired by November 6. In response, several labor unions (SEIU, Change to Win, AFL-CIO, the Puerto Rican Workers Union and more) together with a larger coalition, Todo Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico, called for a national one day strike.

Since then, the public protest has gathered broad support in all social spheres, while the Government attempts to start a media campaign of terror to prevent its success. First the Fortuño administration stated that participants in the strike might be charged as terrorists under the U.S. Patriot Act, and later that the anti-riot police unit and the National Guard would intervene to "guarantee that all principal routes are clear and not obstructed by protesters."

Augmenting the tense atmosphere felt throughout the country this week: the surprising announcement of the closure of all nine state university campuses--allegedly to prevent "terrorist activities" related to the general strike.

As of all this has been going on and hundreds of thousands prepare to protest, Governor Fortuño has managed to fill up his daily schedule. Negotiating with workers, you ask? Not quite. In an intense media blitz, Fortuño appeared on what to seem like every TV news program in Puerto Rico, making his not-so-very-subtle threats suitably known to the workers' unions and its allies: "The police and the National Guard troops will be ready to intervene in your protest."

The fear campaign extended to the private sector, where the Manufacturers Association, the Chamber of Commerce and Construction Enterprises joined together to issue a public announcement against the strike; assuring anyone listening that it will provoke an economic disaster and calling on the government to show a hand of steel against protesters.

In the meantime, the SPT (SEIU Local 1996) and UGT (SEIU Local 1199) members and leaders have been preparing all the details for a massive mobilization of citizens and workers to participate in the October 15 strike. Both union headquarters were a seething mass of members getting ready for the big day.

This we know: it will be a long and tense night. But then dawn will come, and it will be greeted by the sound of "panderos" [tambourines] and thousands upon thousands of people chanting slogans demanding "Work, Not Welfare!" And as the crowd grows larger and stronger there will be no fear, because solidarity will take its place.

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.

When security guard Richard Ruiz expressed frustration over he and his coworkers' unsuccessful efforts to form a union in their workplace to Miami New Times' blog Riptide, he was simply trying to give a voice to their struggle.

In January, about seventy-five percent of the Security Alliance guards signed cards to form a union with SEIU--but since that time, he and the 50 or so security guards employed by Security Alliance of Florida in the Miami Beach area had been experiencing intimidation, scare tactics and harassment at the hands of their employer for exercising their rights to organize. Ruiz was the only one out of his coworkers who was willing to speak about their efforts to form a union on the record.

His reward for having the courage to speak out for what he believes in? Losing his job. "We are trying to make this city safer for everybody, but I was fired when they found out I was speaking out and wanted a union," said Richard Ruiz, who was terminated after working for more than two years for Security Alliance. "Employers shouldn't stop decent people from trying to have a better life."

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor formally made good on a promise to kill a proposal introduced by President Bush in his final days of administration that would have made it more difficult for the government to write new worker protection rules. OMB Watchreports that the controversial proposal was, essentially, "an attempt to regulate regulations" by creating an "additional mandatory step to an already complicated rulemaking process."

The so-called risk assessment proposal would have weakened and delayed the development of standards to protect workers from occupational hazards, including making it harder to prove the level of risk workers face when exposed to toxins on the job. The Labor Department issued a notice calling the proposed rule "unnecessary." Democratic lawmakers are applauding the move, saying it would have "dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow[ed] their enactment."

Rulings such as this one by the DOL and Secretary Solis make me grateful that we no longer have a Labor Secretary whose main agenda is not about workers and protecting their rights, but instead, making sure labor rights don't stand in the way of economic interests. Hopefully moving forward, we'll be seeing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) taking initiative and issuing new health-protective regulations to protect workers from toxic substances. More details on this dodged-bullet at The Pump Handle.

With 1.4 million Americans working in its stores, Wal-Mart bears a unique responsibility to its workers and our communities--which is why as Labor Day approaches, SEIU is part of a coalition of labor, environmental, consumer protection, and community groups led by UFCW that are challenging Wal-Mart to start practicing common-sense core American values like workers' rights, corporate responsibility, equal opportunity, quality jobs and environmental stewardship.

No other private, profit-making enterprise in the history of our country has had the economic scope and impact of Wal-Mart. "When a company gets to be as big as Wal-Mart and employs so many workers - more than any other private enterprise in the world - it is no longer a 'private' entity," said Neal Lichtenstein, author of The Retail Revolution: How Walmart Created a Brave New World of Business. "[Wal-Mart] sets the wage and benefit standard for every other mass retailer and influences the business practices of just about every firm in America's huge service sector. So Wal-Mart is part of this country's debate: on health care, wages, equal employment, and the role of trade unionism in our democracy."

Wal-Mart needs to change. Here's a simple breakdown of reasoning behind this campaign to hold Wal-Mart accountable for those challenges, and to the ideals it puts forth in its advertising:

Wal-Mart is America's store.

Wal-Mart is America's workplace.

Wal-Mart is America's town center.

Wal-Mart must reflect America's values.

Hard work should bring pay and benefits that can support families.

Workers have rights that even the largest employer must recognize and respect.

There are two new "Common Sense Economics" TV ads to go along with the launch of the American Values Agenda for Change at Wal-Mart. Watch them here (Ad #1, Ad #2):

   

SEIU's Walmart Watch recently joined WakeUpWalmart.com to hold America's largest private employer accountable. Learn more about how you can help challenge Wal-Mart to embrace the American Values Agenda for Change at WakeUpWalmart.com.

Read the American Values Agenda for Change here.

Workers United members of Local 1426 in Terre Haute, Indiana recently rejected a contract offer by their employer and voted to continue to strike. The company continues to insist on implementing invasive health coverage testing for both workers and their spouses, as well as a temporary worker program that would reduce the number of permanent jobs.

Earlier this month, actor and activist Danny Glover traveled to Terre Haute to show his support for the workers who make the flexible food packaging you see on your grocery store's shelves:

The members of Local 1426 need your support -- please stand with them and tell Bemis Manufacturing company that workers aren't lab rats.

What if your employer told you that in order to keep your health coverage you and your spouse must submit to invasive health screenings from your insurer?

If you refused, you'd lose the health coverage you've always counted on. Oh, and the company is self-insured but they promise they won't use your private health information to decide whether to keep your coverage, hire you, fire you, or make your spouse go on a diet.

Unbelievable, but that's what my employer wants to force us to do! That's one of the reasons why more than 700 of us are on strike.

Tell our employer, Bemis Manufacturing company, that workers aren't lab rats.

My coworkers and I work in Terre Haute, Indiana. We make the flexible food packaging you see on your grocery store's shelves. Our company has been union for 52 years and is successful, with profits up more than 16 percent.

We did not make the decision to strike lightly. In an effort to avoid a strike we made an alternative offer to work without a contract while the bargaining continued but Bemis refused and actually lowered its offer. They even cut off insurance benefits which we had already paid for and demanded we accept low wage temp workers turning good jobs into McJobs.

Will you take a stand with us?

Tell Bemis to negotiate in good faith and respect its workers.

We're pretty excited SEIU Executive Secretary-Treasurer and Change to Win chair Anna Burger is set to keynote at the Netroots Nation convention (formerly known as the YearlyKos Convention) this weekend in Pittsburgh, PA. The annual gathering put on by Netroots Nation--a nonprofit organization for the advancement of online political activism--will bring together online organizers, political bloggers and progressive activists, from both inside and outside the union movement.

Burger is part of a panel discussion with NJ Gov. Jon Corzine and economist Dean Baker, entitled Building a 21st-Century Economy:

Saturday, August 15th - 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Keynote, Hall B

Shortly after President Obama took office, he remarked, "We need new rules of the road for the 21st century economy, together with the means and willingness to enforce them." But in today's world, economic solutions must include more than just bailouts and regulations.

As our leaders push to solve our country's financial crisis, how can we maintain confidence in the economy while protecting the interests of the middle class? What are some of the pivotal policy decisions that are being made now, and what will a "21st century economy" look like? And how can we as progressives help for progressive change in areas such as health care and workers' rights?

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Change to Win Chair Anna Burger and economist Dean Baker will join us in Pittsburgh for a discussion about the economy and how it affects working Americans. The panel will be moderated by Kevin Drum of Mother Jones.

Netroots '09 will feature tons of panels, training sessions, workshops and keynotes to help teach participants how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Other Netroots panel discussions SEIU'ers will be leading include How to Work with Unions in Your District, Building the Blue-Green Movement Online, Turning Red Districts Blue: Organizing For Change, Si Se Puede 2.0, and Labor Caucus.

Reason #1,292 you should go to Netroots '09: It was recently announced that President Bill Clinton will kick off the convention with a keynote on Thursday night. If you haven't already signed up to attend the highly-anticipated gathering of the online progressive community register now here.

Attendees and panelists will live tweet from the conference August 13-16 -- you can follow what they're saying on Twitter via the official Netroots Nation hashtag #nn09. Head on Radio Network will be broadcasting the event with live audio and video stream.

For the last 52 years, Local 1426 of Workers United in Terre Haute, Indiana has worked with Bemis to grow their local plant from 150 employees to over 1,000 employees. Yet in spite of their growing size, members of the union have agreed to modest wage gains over the years that just barely keep up with the cost of inflation--because that was what was best for the community and to keep the company competitive.

In recent years management changed--and it was not the only thing changing around the plant. Without any advance notice last year, the Company announced that it was going to require all employees (and their spouses) to submit to invasive medical testing in order to remain eligible for their health insurance. Not only was this illegal for the way it was done, with no bargaining with union representatives, but as you can imagine, it was hugely insulting and demeaning to workers and their families.

Today, several workers went to Capitol Hill to attend a panel discussion about the Employee Free Choice Act, sponsored by the Alliance for Worker Freedom. Much to their dismay, the workers were escorted out of the event after its organizers complained to the Capitol Police.

The event was advertised as an information-gathering session for Congressional staffers to discuss the legislation, and have "questions addressed by experts in the field." And for the outside community, "a resource to gather and share information."

However, it quickly became evident when the workers were blocked from attending the event that these panelists were probably not going to be educating the room on how we can push for the protection of workers' rights. The event featured speakers from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and corporate front groups the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and the Workforce Fairness Institute, among others--the same groups and donors that fight against good wages, workplace safety and the ability of workers to form unions in their workplaces.

You'd think that a meeting on Employee Free Choice would welcome the perspective of workers whose lives the legislation would most deeply effect -- but ironically, this was not the case.

It's pretty ridiculous that an organization called "The Alliance for Worker Freedom" would kick out workers from a Capitol Hill panel discussion and Q&A about the rights and freedoms of workers. Guess a misleading organization name is just one more degenerate attempt by this group to convince people that they're on the side of workers.

We just sent out this email about the outrageous editorial the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published this week. Read the email and then use the tool to write a letter to the editor--we must take a stand for workers in Arkansas.

With the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act still going, it was bound to break Godwin's Law: yesterday the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial board "unequivocally" equated the Employee Free Choice Act to.... Nazis. The newspapers' anti-Employee Free Choice editorial ends with this:

Have you noticed? Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers' welfare have a way of undermining their rights. They may begin by bullying management but wind up dictating to labor, too. And everybody else. For a European example to beware, note the sad history of the grandly named National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazis.

The "Workforce Fairness Institute" and "Center for Union Facts" both linked to the editorial approvingly and without distancing themselves from the Nazi association.

Think Progress reports:

Corporate front group tweets approvingly about editorial equating Employee Free Choice Act with Nazism.

Today, the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) -- which is a corporate front group, "founded by several longtime Republican operatives," that is lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) -- tweeted approvingly about an editorial in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that unequivocally equates EFCA with Nazism.

The editorial says that "American public opinion came to the defense of the secret ballot when it was about to be junked. It needs to stay vigilant against these sly little provisions intended to achieve the same end."

WFI's Mark McKinnon (background on ex-Bush strategist McKinnon here) has previously warned that Employee Free Choice is equatable with "tyrannies and socialism." In November 2008, the National Journal reported that WFI "has been doing grassroots work in 16 states for about six months," in opposition to EFCA. When asked by the New York Times, WFI's Mark McKinnon "would not say which companies are financing the institute, founded by several longtime Republican operatives." So although the group will not identify its funders, the National Journal has also reported that WFI is likely funded by big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Recently, deceptive ads about the Employee Free Choice Act ran in Arkansas and Nebraska, falsely claiming that organized workers do not have a say in negotiations over their wages and benefits and implying that employers are handing out raises to their employees with the union that is standing in the way. The ads are paid for by the Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC), and EFAC, like its affiliated anti-EFCA corporate front group Center for Union Facts, is run by corporate lobbyist Rick Berman. Beginning to see the ties that bind here?
Comparing those who support a workers' rights to mass murderers is beyond the pale and completely undermines the Democrat-Gazette's credibility as a legitimate news outlet. We believe such an outrageous, offensive claim by Arkansas' largest paper demands a strong rebuttal. Let the editors of the Democrat-Gazette know what you think about their Nazi comparison. Write your letter to the editor now.

Yesterday, Pope Benedict released a bold new encyclical criticizing the current economic system and reaffirming the Church's longstanding commitment to protecting workers' freedom to form unions--the central principle of the Employee Free Choice Act.

"The repeated calls issued within the Church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honoured today even more than in the past," said the Pope. More at the New York Times.

Change that Works Arkansas held an organizing meeting at its North Little Rock office. Workers from around the state capital, gathered to write letters to their Congressional representatives and express their desire for the right to organize. CTW team members stressed the importance of sharing their story with lawmakers.

Join the Arkansas Change that Works team and help improve the quality of life for working Arkansans.

Today, SEIU joined the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Catholic Health Association and labor unions including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and AFT to announce a landmark set of guiding principles on respecting the rights of workers in the Catholic Healthcare system.

The announcement is the result of a 10-year dialogue among the groups aimed at finding common ground on the rights of workers to choose whether to form a union. It builds on a previous report released by Catholic Bishops presenting key tenets of Catholic social teaching to guide and inform Catholic health care and ensure fairness and respect throughout healthcare institutions. The new report, "Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Healthcare and Unions," renews the Bishops' call to Catholic health care employers to support the rights of workers to choose to join a union free from intimidation or harassment.

The guiding principles suggest seven key principles for appropriate conduct to help ensure that employees are able to make an informed decision without undue influence or pressure from either side. The document also makes the recommendation that unions and employers put specific ways they plan on ensuring appropriate conduct in writing. Principles in "Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Healthcare and Unions," include:

* Respect. No negative campaigning by either side.
* Equal access to information by the employer and the union representatives
* No biased statements that would give misleading impressions about the advantages and disadvantages of joining a union.
* No aggressive or coercive behavior.
* A fair and timely process.
* Meaningful enforcement of a "local agreement" that would be set at the beginning of the organizing campaign to outline specific rules and measures.
* Honoring employee decisions, with no attempt to reverse the outcome of the workers' decision on whether or not to unionize.

"At a moment when some in the business community are focused on diminishing the voice of workers, the Bishops are standing up for what is fair and what is just: that it is up to workers--not bishops, hospital managers, or union leaders--to choose to join a union," said SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera in a statement today.

The Catholic Church historically has had the courage to support the rights of workers because it's the fair and just thing to do; we believe Congress should do the same. These principles will serve as recommendations for nearly 600,000 workers in almost 600 Catholic hospitals nationwide.

The "first contract arbitration" portion of the Employee Free Choice Act seeks to stop employers from using endless foot-dragging against workers who have voted for a union, but have yet to secure a contract. The legislation says that if employers and workers can't reach an agreement in a reasonable amount of time--120 days--either side can bring in a neutral, private-sector arbitrator to settle the dispute.

In March of this year, the Chamber of Commerce called Consumer Arbitration, "Fair, Inexpensive, and Unbiased."
Many corporations--like the Chamber-- are happy to support arbitration when it's in their best interest, and put arbitration provisions into 75 percent of consumer contracts.

But when it comes to creating a contract that works for workers, companies often refuse to negotiate a first agreement, or use stall tactics and gimmicks to delay the process for years. They praise arbitration when it favors them, but oppose it in settling first contracts--and will use any tactic they can to avoid paying their employees better wages and benefits.

Under the NLRA, 44 percent of new unions still don't have contracts two years after they are certified because companies refuse to even negotiate in good faith. Our current labor system for workers trying to form a union has proven its inability to defend workers' rights in a timely manner time and time again. Supporters of the freedom to form unions are fed up with delays that favor employees, and American Rights at Work has launched a campaign to point out the hypocrisy of Big Business on arbitration.

American Rights at Work launched their first print ad last week demonstrating how corporations are attacking the idea of arbitration when it involves their employees--while supporting arbitration in a variety of areas where it benefits them. Today, the second print ad in their series is out. Here's a preview of the ad that is running in Politico, CQ, Roll Call & The Hill:

Ad text:

Big Business is happy to support arbitration when it's in their best interest. But when it comes to negotiating contracts with their workers, Big Business would rather use delay tactics to avoid paying better wages and benefits. It's only fair that corporations agree to arbitration for workers who are trying to negotiate a first contract after forming a union. Arbitration is a key part of the Employee Free Choice Act that will let both sides reach a fair agreement.

Check out the newest arbitration ad here. ARAW also has a great fact sheet on arbitration here.

Throughout the middle part of the 20th century--when more than a third of working Americans belonged to a union--American workers generated economic growth with increased productivity and were rewarded with higher wages. But this link between greater productivity and higher wages has broken down.

In the past 50+ years that have passed since America's middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring, former labor secretaries Robert Reich (1993 - 1997) and Ray Marshall (1977 - 1981) have seen an economy weakened by a combination of personal greed, individual irresponsibility and unsustainable financial conditions. In Sunday's Chicago Tribune, Reich and Marshall explain why the Employee Free Choice Act is critical to getting our economy back on track.

While the debate surrounding the Employee Free Choice Act continues to grow, the underlying principles behind the measure shouldn't be swept under the rug or marginalized for political convenience. We have a president and secretary of labor who both support making it easier for workers to join unions. We shouldn't squander this opportunity for change.

Our country's history, Reich and Marshall say, has shown that unions are necessary to give the middle class the bargaining power it needs for better wages and benefits and the opportunity to fulfill the elusive American dream.

The years following World War II saw the largest increase in union membership in U.S. history, and along with it came increased productivity and shared prosperity. We can repeat this, but we must reform our obsolete labor laws so workers can join unions without the roadblocks so many face.

Putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the long-term growth of U.S. economy by giving consumers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services our economy produces. Especially, say the former labor secretaries, because "a vital component of our nation's recovery is making sure that we don't return to a bubble-and-bust economy, where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class gets squeezed."

Today, employers are "more than twice as likely as they were in the 1990s to use 10 or more tactics...to thwart workers' organizing efforts." A very important feature of the Employee Free Choice Act, Reich and Marshall remind us, toughens penalties against companies that violate their workers' rights by using union-busting tactics like intimidation, harassment, or threat of fire.

The principles that are the foundation of the Employee Free Choice Act -- giving workers a direct path to form unions, toughening penalties against employers who break the law and helping workers secure a first contract in a reasonable period of time -- are ones we must never waiver on.

The sooner the Employee Free Choice Act is enacted, the better -- for U.S. workers and for the U.S. economy. Because in this economy, "people should be able to bargain, not beg, their way into the middle class."

Read the whole editorial here.

"Name a successful unionized company. Think. You're gonna go to break before you come up with one."

Today, SEIU International President Andy Stern made the following statement in response to comments by New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" cast on the effectiveness of unionized companies.

"Unionized companies are a driving force in our economy, from Kaiser Permanente to Securitas. The bigger question this country is really asking right now is how do we define a successful company? Is it a company that turns a profit by driving down employee wages successful?  Is cutting off benefits or putting people out of work to improve the bottom line for shareholders a business model we as Americans want to embrace? Are we going to embrace the Wal-Mart model as the standard of success, or are we going to raise the bar and rebuild the middle class in this country?

"We think it's time to have a serious national discussion about what we want the future of our economy to look like--and the voices of women and men who work are critical to that conversation.  That's why we're supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill to help create an economy in which companies succeed based on the quality of their services, not on their willingness to exploit or silence workers."

Workers in Arkansas want to improve their quality of life. Kanisha Hatton is one of those workers. Born and raised in Little Rock, Kanisha graduated from an Arkansas university with a degree in health science. She looked for full-time employment in her field for three years with no luck. Currently, Kanisha works part time, without benefits, and the promise of full time work from her employers that never comes.

Kanisha believes that the Employee Free Choice Act will change her situation in Arkansas and other workers throughout the state and nation for the better. She wants the playing field to be level between employers and workers:

I'm working part time because someone decided it was cheaper to hire two part time people, and to leave both of us without benefits, so they could keep more money for themselves. We need to do something about this. We need to raise standards, and the best way to do this is for workers to have a voice on the job.

How can we do something about it? For Kanisha, it starts with the Employee Free Choice Act:

A voice on the job brought us the weekend, brought us 40-hour work weeks, and gave us family leave. Now it's time for a voice on the job to fix our economy, give workers a bigger share of the wealth they create, and make sure jobs support families.

Kanisha knows working families in Arkansas need Employee Free Choice, and she's working hard to make that happen. Tell your worker story.