Awesome Exchange Among Australian Unionists and SEIU1199ers in MD

Jun 16, 2010 - Though the weather was scorching on June 8th in Baltimore, the hottest ideas in the city were found right inside the air-conditioned offices of 1199SEIU. Eight union activists from Australia came to town to talk with the 1199 team that's been working on the Heart of Baltimore campaign, which is fighting to win free and fair union elections for every local caregiver. Read more...

President Obama: "I am a pro-union guy."

Apr 28, 2010 - President Obama held a town hall meeting in Iowa yesterday, during which he answered questions from audience members. He also reminded the public of his perspective and support for labor unions, saying "I've said this before publicly and I'll say it again, I make no apologies for it. I am a pro-union guy." Read more...

Sodexo Sued By Union-Busters for Distributing Union-Busting Materials

Apr 23, 2010 - Apparently feeling the heat from last week's actions, Sodexo continues to insist that the company "categorically...recognizes and respects [their] workers rights to join a union or not join a union." According to legal documents filed just last week, Sodexo is now being sued by a union-busting firm for unlawfully using their copyrighted anti-union materials and distributing them to managers without permission. Read more...

UPDATED: "We will take this back to France and the U.K."

Apr 15, 2010 - During their short lunch breaks, Sodexo workers at George Mason University talked with an 8-person delegation of French and British Sodexo workers visiting this week. What the visiting workers learned from these conversations about Sodexo's strong opposition to workers shocked them. Read more...

SEIU's Gerry Hudson Talks Labor and Progressives

Apr 12, 2010 - SEIU Executive VP Gerry Hudson has long dedicated himself to the cause of organized labor, such as nursing home employees like his own mother. Earlier this week, he joined several panelists at Georgetown's Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor to discuss how the current labor movement fits within the progressive movement and the importance of refocusing our work in the Obama era. Read more...

Fact Check on Rep. John Kline's Opening Statement at Today's House Education and Labor Committee Hearing with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

Feb 03, 2010 - During his opening statement at today's House Education and Labor Committee Hearing with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) underscored how out of touch he is with the needs of working families in his Minnesota district and across the country. "We certainly expected his opening statement to be long on anti-worker rhetoric, but we were shocked on how wrong he was on the facts," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. Read our fact check here. Read more...

Labor Secretary Solis's first-ever testimony before House Ed & Labor Committee

Feb 03, 2010 - This morning, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis is testifying before the House Education and Labor Committee on her first year at the DOL and the Obama administration's priorities in 2010. After eight years of the GOP undermining the Labor Department during the Bush Administration, it is so good to hear our Labor Secretary speak out on how she and the Dept. of Labor plan to actively work to improve the lives of American workers...instead of just looking out for CEOs and corporate interests. Note this excerpt from Solis's testimony, where she endorses good union jobs, and restates her unequivocal endorsement for the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

U.S. Chamber's "Card Check Compromise" Poll Compromises the Facts

Feb 02, 2010 - Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber released a "nationwide poll" which claimed to reveal the public's fears about how the "Employee Free Choice Act" would hurt job growth. If the Chamber really wanted to stir up some press on their reinvigorated anti-worker campaign, perhaps they should have picked a less-obviously right wing polling company to make their intentions appear less transparent. Read more...

GOP operatives pen talking points most likely to scare American public away from reform

Feb 02, 2010 - Should the "Party of No" want to spin the news about happenings on Capitol Hill away from what's good for working people to what's good for the GOP and Wall Street, Frank Luntz is not the only go-to right winger to consider. GOPers took part in a similarly dishonest, distasteful anti-reform brainstorm back in 2005, as word of the Employee Free Choice Act legislation to reform broken labor law emerged from Congress. Read more...

2009: Remembering the Year That Was...

Jan 05, 2010 - We started the year on a high note: The Inauguration of President Barack Obama, for whom our union worked day and night to elect. As we usher in 2010, we took a closer look back at the legislation, people, stories and campaigns that made an impact on our members and all working people in 2009. Check out our timeline of the year's highlights for working families and SEIU members here. More on the SEIU campaigns that drew a lot of attention this year in our review of the top 10 SEIU Blog stories of 2009. Read more...

Wake up call for unorganized workers & the labor movement

Dec 28, 2009 - Today in an interview on The Real News Network, journalist Phil Dine had a message for unorganized workers, on why all working Americans should be in a labor union. Interviewer Paul Jay and Dine also discussed unions needing to be able to say to the Democratic party, "you're either with us...or you're with the Chamber of Commerce." Read more...

U.S. Chamber Armed with Hyperbole, Bad Metaphors to Defeat Employee Free Choice Act

Dec 14, 2009 - Fresh off their quixotic campaigns to kill health care reform, climate change legislation, consumer financial protection, and pretty much anything else that their small group of backers dislike, the U.S. Chamber will renew its pledge to defeat labor law reform. Read more...

Andy Stern sits down with Maria Bartiromo

Nov 09, 2009 - In wide-ranging interview, SEIU President Andy Stern sat down with Maria Bartiromo this weekend on the Wall Street Journal Report. Topics included in their discussion include the current state of the economy, H1N1, healthcare reform, the White House visitors list, the state of the Employee Free Choice Act, and the role of unions in an increasingly globalized economy. Read more...

Lowe's employee breakroom signs (and other Employee Free Choice goodies)

Nov 05, 2009 - After Lowe's Home Improvement settled a class action suit last month for requiring workers to work "off the clock," workers were greeted with this sign in their workplace breakroom--a not-so-subtle reminder of the company's position on giving workers a voice on the job. Read more...

Call the Senate for the Employee Free Choice Act

Nov 04, 2009 - Hundreds of state leaders are in Washington DC today, fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act - so workers can fix our economy from the bottom up. We need to make our voices heard on Capitol Hill. Can you join us in calling your senators right now? Just call 1-866-311-3405 and you'll be connected to your senator's office. Read more...

VA-Gov: Divining meaning that isn't there

Nov 04, 2009 - An email this morning from Jason McBride of the humorously named "Workplace Fairness Institute" read, "Bob McDonnell made EFCA a central issue in his campaign and as a result, small businesses and workers from across the state decided to stand with him." We did a fact check on this point we think you might be interested in. Read more...

ConservativeTransparency.org to Dispel Shroud of My$tery Surrounding Conservatives' AstroTurf Groups

Nov 03, 2009 - We could be looking at the beginning of the end of astroturfing (aka fake grassroots activism). A new database by Media Matters tracks the financial and political ties of conservative think tanks, nonprofit activist groups, and foundations for the public to see: ConservativeTransparency.org. Read more...

"Can I see YOUR business card?" The Chamber gets punk'd

Oct 20, 2009 - Editors and fact checkers at several major news outlets were having a seriously bad case of "the Mondays" yesterday, as The Washington Post, CNBC, NY Times, Fox News and other major newspapers were duped by a Chamber of Commerce hoax perpetrated by the Yes Men at the National Press Club. Read more...

Free and Fair Elections in Charm City

Oct 08, 2009 - Baltimore's City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday endorsing "free and fair union elections for all hospital and nursing home workers in every facility throughout the city." In a city where only nine percent of health care workers are currently unionized (but one in five Baltimore jobs are in health care), this is big news! Read more...

The Onion reviews the Ken Lewis record

Oct 08, 2009 - The Onion, America's Finest News Source, has nicely summed up the various mistakes that caused Ken Lewis to step down as CEO of Bank of America. Chiefly, that whole "worldwide economic collapse" thing. Read more...

Turn off the Lights at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Sep 30, 2009 - The last one to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, please turn off the lights. The exodus from the corporate front group is taking place because of its extreme views on issues like climate change, health care reform, financial regulations, and labor law reform. We must use this opportunity to further isolate the U.S. Chamber as an out-of-touch outfit that only serves the interest of a handful of greedy CEOs. Sign the petition to your senators: listen to working people, not the greedy CEOs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read more...

Update: Filling Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat, Banks, Protests for Corporate Reform, Employee Free Choice

Sep 28, 2009 - This past week, while much of D.C. has been focused on the healthcare mark-up (us included), we've also been tracking a few other stories that we wanted to bring to your attention. First--the encouraging news that Massachusetts will return to full representation and the Democrats in Congress to a cloture-proof majority. Also, don't miss two stories on SEIU's calls for financial reform and a questionable award choice from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read more...

Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson: New Face of Corporate Opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act

Sep 24, 2009 - South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson is really embracing his newfound stardom as Heckler-in-Chief. So what's Wilson's latest outburst? Slamming the Employee Free Choice Act to a corporate group fighting the bill. Read more...

Anniversary Reminder: No Coercion in Majority Sign-up

Sep 15, 2009 - September 15th marks the second anniversary of New Hampshire's majority sign-up law, which allows public sector workers to form collective bargaining units by signing petitions rather than through an election process. Read more...

Crystal Lee Sutton, the real "Norma Rae," was a fighter to the end

Sep 14, 2009 - Our nation has lost a great hero and champion of working people. Crystal Lee Sutton was a courageous woman who stood up for herself and her coworkers under the most difficult circumstances. She was an inspiration to organizers in this union and beyond, particularly Southern women who went on to lead their own campaigns after learning from her example. It's well-known that Crystal's story was the inspiration for the academy award-winning 1979 film Norma Rae, but I wish more people knew the real story of Crystal Lee Sutton and her co-workers, and the strength and honor they showed as they fought to organize the textile giant JP Stevens. Read more...

Like Two Vitriolic Peas in a Pod: Glenn Beck and the US Chamber of Commerce

Sep 14, 2009 - Two of America's most favorite right-wing institutions will converge in East Lansing, Michigan at an event ironically titled the "Future Forum." FOX News' Glenn Beck and US Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue will both keynote an event hosted by the Michigan Chamber that is sure to tickle the free market fancies of those in attendance. Read more...

Statement of Anna Burger on Lehman Brothers Collapse and President Obama's Speech

Sep 14, 2009 - Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) released the statement of Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse. Read more...

Senator Harkin on Employee Free Choice: "It's personal to me"

Sep 14, 2009 - More than 300 activists from 15 states converged on Capitol Hill on September 10, 2009 to tell their elected leaders that workers need and deserve meaningful labor law reform. Senator Tom Harkin kicked off the lobby day at a morning press conference with a moving speech to the state delegations. Read more...

Tomorrow: Employee Free Choice Lobby Day

Sep 09, 2009 - On Thursday, September 10th, a coalition of around 300 progressives from 15 states--including small business owners, faith leaders, farmers, students and veterans--will be in Washington, DC to lobby for major labor law reform. Read more...

US Chamber of Commerce at the Root of Financial Crisis

Sep 09, 2009 - As Americans continue to face furloughs, layoffs, and dwindling savings, as millions find themselves unable to afford the homes that banks enticed them to buy with tricky mortgages, and as states and cities cut services as a result of declining tax revenue, CEOs and the US Chamber of Commerce remain unrepentant, unremorseful, and if they get their way, unregulated. Read more...

Forward this Message

Sep 08, 2009 - This week we're stepping up the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act. Hundreds of people will meet with their Members of Congress, and we'll make thousands of calls to their offices to show the broad public support for the Employee Free Choice Act. But we need to bring in more people to help support out efforts. Read more...

MEDIA ADVISORY for September 10th: Nearly 300 Progressives Descend on Washington to Lobby for Employee Free Choice Act

Sep 08, 2009 - On Thursday, September 10, a coalition of nearly 300 progressives from 15 states across the country will travel to Washington this week to lobby for major labor law reform. Read more...

Obama, Biden Reaffirm Support for Employee Free Choice Act

Sep 07, 2009 - At Labor Day rallies in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, President Obama and Vice President Biden today reaffirmed their support for the Employee Free Choice Act as a top priority of the Administration. Read more...

Happy Labor Day! Employee Free Choice Recess Round-up

Sep 03, 2009 - 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 Read more...

New Report: Young Workers Fall Behind, Blame Wall Street for Economy

Sep 02, 2009 - A new report from the AFL-CIO shows some stunning statistics about young workers. Read more...

Miami Beach Security Officer Loses His Job for Speaking Out About Forming a Union

Sep 01, 2009 - Security guards employed by Security Alliance in the Miami Beach area have been experiencing intimidation, scare tactics and harassment at the hands of their employer for exercising their rights to organize. And when one officer went on the record to express frustration over he and his coworkers' unsuccessful efforts to form a union in their workplace, his reward for having the courage to speak up was...losing his job. Read more...

Local 1199SEIU and 615 Members Remember Senator Kennedy

Aug 31, 2009 - Throughout his storied career, Sen. Kennedy stood with members of SEIU to fight for dignity and respect for working people everywhere. The Senator could always be counted on to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with 1199SEIU members in Massachusetts. As a testament to this, stories continue to pour in on the work the Senator championed alongside our members. Read more...

Reminder: No coercion in majority sign-up

Aug 20, 2009 - EPI posted a recent study that shows literally no coercion in majority sign-up. You can read the survey here, but the graph says it all. So when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tries its scare tactics, remember: it's corporations that coerce and intimidate workers who want to join unions. Anything else is just simply not true. Read more...

In case you missed it....August 17th round-up

Aug 17, 2009 - In union news this week...Hear both sides of the story surrounding the St. Louis health care town hall; read about SEIU's Anna Burger's speech at the Netroots Nation convention; help stop a Detroit college freshman's deportation; counter "death panel" noise with real facts about healthcare and tell Wal-Mart to end their financial support of Glenn Beck's televised hate. Read more...

Be the first to know...Sign-up for mobile alerts from SEIU

Aug 17, 2009 - When our members require support at the workplace, the state capitol, or in the streets, we need immediate coordination--and being a part of our mobile alert list is a critical piece of our rapid response infrastructure. Text 'SEIU' to 787753 (PURPLE) right now, or sign-up online for SEIU's new mobile alerts program: http://action.seiu.org/seiumobile Read more...

A Lesson in Free Speech and the Law for Corporations

Aug 12, 2009 - This week we criticized a NAM adviser who defended corporate lawlessness on the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The adviser found virtually no fault with intimidating threats, and complained that corporations wouldn't be able to stop employees from joining unions without punishment. NAM responded to our criticism, raising the false specter of corporations "who express their opinions [being] punished for that expression." Read more...

Why is the Chamber outsourcing American jobs?

Aug 11, 2009 - Last week, SEIU President Andy Stern called on U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue to explain why his organization supports outsourcing of American jobs. "It's unconscionable that, at a time when most Americans are consumed with fear of losing their jobs, their healthcare and their homes, the nation's top advocate for corporate lobbyists is actively working to make those fears become reality," said Stern. Read more...

Shock: Corporate Advocates Who Break the Law Don't Want to Be Punished

Aug 10, 2009 - Corporate groups are expanding their attack on working people and the Employee Free Choice Act. The latest volley? Defending the status quo of ineffective penalties for when corporations break the law. Yeah, they went there. In a WSJ editorial, NAM adviser John Irving advocates for the current toothless system that allows corporations to get off scot-free when they break the law. Read more...

Wall Street: Contracts for Me, Not for Thee

Aug 05, 2009 - Citigroup - recipient of $45 billion in bailout funds - apparently isn't feeling the economic crunch. In fact, it's considering paying a $100 million bonus to one of its employees, protesting that it can't tear up a contract. Tell that to California state employees. SEIU's Stephen Lerner compares the two vastly different situations in a segment on CNBC. Read more...

Unrestricted Executive Compensation Exists in Wall Street's "Bizarro World"

Aug 04, 2009 - Late Friday afternoon, SEIU's Stephen Lerner debated the new executive compensation regulations approved by the House of Representatives on CNBC. Lerner argued that the insatiable desire for limitless pay and bonuses amounted to a Wall Street "Bizarro World." Read more...

Women Stand Up for the Employee Free Choice Act

Aug 03, 2009 - Following the announcement last month from over a dozen national women's organizations in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, women across the country are standing up for the legislation. Women want to see our labor laws updated so that workers can freely and fairly form their own organization and their rights are protected. Read more...

The Penthouse View vs. Main Street Reality

Jul 31, 2009 - Congress took a step towards cracking down on corporate and big bank CEO pay today, as the House passed the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009 by a 237-to-185 vote. The House passage of the bill is an important step to correct the enormous disparity between those at the top and regular working Americans, but much more needs to be done to help Main Street recover. Read more...

Educating on the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 31, 2009 - Paul Begala has an incredibly powerful and persuasive op-ed in Politicotoday making the case for the Employee Free Choice Act. After introducing nightmare hypothetical scenarios of workers getting fired for trying to organize, Begala pulls back the curtain and reveals the stories are about real workers who were fighting for better jobs. Read more...

SEIU to Congress: Employee Free Choice Act Essential to Reining in Reckless CEOs and Corporate Greed

Jul 31, 2009 - As Congressional gets sets to pass H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009, cracking down on corporate and big bank CEO pay, SEIU called on lawmakers to pass the Employee Free Choice Act as an essential way to rein in reckless CEOs and corporate greed and speed up economic recovery. Read more...

18,836 people to Congress: We support majority sign-up

Jul 31, 2009 - Read more...

Lifestyles of the Rich and Bailed Out

Jul 30, 2009 - It appears that big bonuses are back on Wall Street....er rather, maybe they never really left. The WSJ reported last week that "Executives and other highly compensated employees now receive more than one-third of all pay in the US." Which begs the question: Are wealthy Americans truly turning back to pre-crisis habits, even as most of the country remains in deep economic stress? Read more...

Change That Works demands reform from elected officials: August Congressional recess events

Jul 30, 2009 - As members of the U.S. House and Senate turn their sights from committee hearings and floor votes in D.C., to barbecues and luncheons back home, SEIU's Change That Works team is ready to ensure they don't forget the promises they made on the campaign trail to fix our broken healthcare system and support hardworking families. Read more...

Video: 18,836 people tell Congress, "We support majority sign-up"

Jul 30, 2009 - Yesterday we delivered a petition in support of majority sign-up and the Employee Free Choice Act to the Senate. A grand total of 18,836 people signed our petition in just a week! That's really amazing. Watch this video of SEIU members delivering the petition to the Senate yesterday. Read more...

Hey Big Banks: Want some better ways to spend that $74 billion?

Jul 29, 2009 - According to the Washington Post, the top six U.S. banks set aside $74 billion in 2009 for bonuses and other compensation--up $14 billion from last year alone. In response, SEIU released its own "Top 5 Ways We'd Spend The $74 Billion." Included in the list were: covering the budget shortfalls of 16 states, including California; paying one year's worth of mortgage for over 6 million families, and giving over $5,000 to every single American that's currently unemployed. Read more...

Alliance for Worker Freedom kicks out workers

Jul 28, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Arkansans Lobby Throughout the State for Employee Free Choice

Jul 28, 2009 - Arkansans are campaigning throughout the state, letting our representatives know that the Employee Free Choice Act will improve the quality of life for working people throughout the state. Check out the team as they crisscross the state, lobbying for the bill that will make it easier for workers to organize: Read more...

Montana Small Town Business Owner Speaks Out Against U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Jul 28, 2009 - In Chester, pop. 730, on the broad northern grasslands of the Montana Hi-Line, local business owner and Chamber of Commerce member Margaret Novak says she's ready to speak out for health care and labor law reform. "The middle class is stuck footing the bill without the means to pay it," Novak said. "Any economist will tell you that you need a strong middle class to make the economy work." Novak and her husband, Mike, own Mike's Thriftway, a supermarket and gas station along U.S. Highway 2 at the edge of town. The two have more than two dozen employees and offer health insurance and family-friendly scheduling to employees. Read more...

'Slowing' the decline in living standards for low-wage workers is not enough

Jul 24, 2009 - Today's increase means a full-time minimum wage earner will receive $28 more a week. This raise is badly needed. It is also categorically insufficient. While our nation's plunge into recession has forced many working families to tighten their belts, low-wage workers have fared even worse. Read more...

17,000 tell Congress: We support majority sign-up and the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 24, 2009 - In response to New York Times reports that Senate Democrats were dropping the "majority sign-up" provision of the Employee Free Choice Act, over 17,000 people signed petitions for Congress showing their support of the provision. The petitions will be hand-delivered to Congressional offices next week by SEIU members. Read more...

Tell the Democrat-Gazette that Employee Free Choice is not Nazism

Jul 24, 2009 - This week, Arkansas' biggest paper, the Democrat-Gazette, made an outrageous and unbelievable statement, "unequivocally" equating the Employee Free Choice Act to....Nazis. The paper's statement is offensive on so many levels that it is difficult to know if it should even be dignified with a response. However, we believe such an outrageous claim demands a strong rebuttal. Read more...

The clock is ticking for consumer protections

Jul 23, 2009 - Congress is reportedly delaying action on President Obama's consumer protection reforms. Why? Because the U.S. Chamber and big bank lobbyists complained for a delay. Click here to fax your Representatives and tell them the U.S. Chamber and big banks shouldn't set the agenda on financial reform. Read more...

Goal: 15,000 people for Majority Signup and the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 23, 2009 - Since Andy Stern kicked off our campaign this week, more than 10,000 people signed our petition in support of majority signup - but we still need to hear from you. Next week SEIU members will deliver our petition to the senators working on the Employee Free Choice Act. We want at least 15,000 people to show support for majority signup before we go to Congress. Read more...

Do corporate front groups think the Employee Free Choice Act is similar to Nazis?

Jul 23, 2009 - With the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act still going and 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. Read more...

Big banks and the Chamber do their best to stop economic recovery--AGAIN

Jul 21, 2009 - Today, reports hit saying Congress is delaying action on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency after a series of lobbying efforts and a letter from the U.S. Chamber and big banks. When it comes to fixing our economy, Congress must not buckle under the pressure of the U.S. Chamber and big banks. Read more...

The verdict is IN: 75% of Americans support majority signup as part of Employee Free Choice

Jul 21, 2009 - Majority signup is based on a simple idea: if a majority of workers say they want a union, they should get a union. And the public agrees: three-quarters (75%) of adults favor allowing workers to have a union once a majority of the employees in a workplace sign authorization cards indicating that they want to form a union, including 44% who strongly support the idea. Read more...

Al Franken raises the SEIU roof

Jul 21, 2009 - Al Franken, like many ex-performers, knows when to arrive at stage right at the critical moment of a new play. Six months into the new Obama administration as we now get ready to pass for the first time in 223 years, a healthcare bill and in the coming months, the Employee Free Choice Act, Sen. Al Franken's presence and strong leadership in the Senate couldn't have come at a better time. Read more...

Tell Congress: We support Majority Signup and the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 21, 2009 - I wanted to write you about the recent news about the Employee Free Choice Act. The New York Times reported on Friday that the Senate is considering dropping majority signup from the Employee Free Choice Act. I created a petition to Congress for you to show support for majority signup. Can you please add you name? Read more...

Statement by SEIU President Andy Stern on the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 17, 2009 - In response to today's New York Times piece on the Employee Free Choice Act, SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement: "As we have said from day one, majority sign-up is the best way for workers to have the right to choose a voice at their workplace..." Read more...

Unions make for a much more family-friendly workplace

Jul 16, 2009 - A new report authored by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the Labor Project for Working Families found that companies with more unionized workers are more likely to pay for family health insurance premiums, embrace paid leave, and allow the use of personal leave to care for a sick child. In case you needed more evidence as to why we need to restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain through the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Family-Friendly Workplace Policies: Unions Make a Difference

Jul 16, 2009 - A new study demonstrates that when it comes to protecting workers' ability to care for their families, being a member of a union makes a big difference. Companies with more unionized workers are more likely to pay for family health insurance premiums, embrace paid leave and allow the use of personal leave to care for a sick child. Read more...

Statement by SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on New Report Showing Unions Make More Family-Friendly Workplaces

Jul 16, 2009 - SEIU Anna Burger's statement on a new report that finds that companies with more unionized workers are more likely to pay for family health insurance premiums, embrace paid leave, and allow the use of personal leave to care for a sick child. Read more...

Insulting: Ask Arkansas TV Stations to Pull this Ad off the Air

Jul 15, 2009 - It's one thing to have a substantive debate. It's another to spread baseless innuendo masquerading as "fact." A corporate group from Washington, DC is doing just that: airing a TV ad about the Employee Free Choice Act that's both completely false and insulting to the intelligence of Arkansans. You can do something about it. Ask the Arkansas TV stations running the ad to pull it off the air. A corporate group from Washington, DC is doing just that: airing a TV ad about the Employee Free Choice Act that's both completely false and insulting to the intelligence of Arkansans. Read more...

What would happen if the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had its way?

Jul 10, 2009 - When CEOs in Washington decide the agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they seem to forget all about real workers and business owners throughout America. We took a look at what would happen if the U.S. Chamber had its way, and how those policies would impact certain states. SEIU's activists in these states are faxing their senators asking them to stand with working people, not the greedy CEOs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read more...

What Would North Dakota Look Like if the Chamber Got Its Way?

Jul 10, 2009 - It's hard to imagine how things could be worse these days: between unemployment, the financial crisis, and the state of healthcare, it's no secret that North Dakota is hurting. Read more...

What Would Pennsylvania Look Like if the Chamber Got Its Way?

Jul 10, 2009 - It could be worse. It's hard to imagine how things could be worse these days: between unemployment, the financial crisis, and the state of healthcare, it's no secret that Pennsylvania is hurting. Read more...

What Would Nebraska Look Like If the Chamber Got Its Way?

Jul 10, 2009 - It could be worse. It's hard to imagine how things could be worse these days: between unemployment, the financial crisis, and the state of healthcare, it's no secret that Nebraska is hurting. Read more...

SEIU Demands Corporate Lobbyists Take Down Deceptive Ads On Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 10, 2009 - Today the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sent letters to television stations in Nebraska and Arkansas demanding that deceptive ads about the Employee Free Choice Act be taken down immediately. The ads are paid for by the Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC), the political action committee of anti-worker front group Center for Union Facts. Read more...

If the U.S. Chamber Had Their Way, Montanans Would Suffer

Jul 09, 2009 - When CEOs in Washington decide the agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they seem to forget all about real workers and business owners throughout America. Read more...

Labor unions set to talk EFCA, healthcare & economic stimulus with President Obama

Jul 09, 2009 - Labor unions SEIU, AFL-CIO, NEA, USW, CWA, IBT and UFCW are headed to the White House next week. On Monday, the united group of labor leaders--including SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger--will meet with President Obama to discuss joint efforts to build an economy that works for all including passing healthcare reform, economic stimulus and the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

If The U.S. Chamber Had Their Way, Pennsylvanians Would Suffer

Jul 08, 2009 - When CEOs in Washington decide the agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they seem to forget all about real workers and business owners throughout America. Read more...

If the U.S. Chamber Had Their Way, North Dakotans Would Suffer

Jul 08, 2009 - When CEOs in Washington decide the agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they seem to forget all about real workers and business owners throughout America. Read more...

If The U.S. Chamber Had Their Way, Nebraskans Would Suffer

Jul 08, 2009 - When CEOs in Washington decide the agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they seem to forget all about real workers and business owners throughout America. Read more...

Pope Supports Principles of the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 08, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Standing With Nebraskans: Passing the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 08, 2009 - "All we wanted were safety shoes." This was the answer cafeteria workers gave when asked why they formed a union at their school. The workers had often asked their managers to provide them with safety shoes, and every time they asked they were told no. Read more...

Senator Al Franken's First Bill: Co-Sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 08, 2009 - Within hours of being sworn in as Minnesota's 2nd senator, Senator Al Franken took action on his first bill: he co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Big banks & U.S. Chamber of Commerce join forces to tank financial reform

Jul 07, 2009 - Recognizing their parallel efforts to fund campaigns against working families, the unappetizing alliance of big bank executives, credit card and financial services companies is joining forces to intensify their lobbying efforts against financial reform. Read more...

The U.S. Chamber v. Everyone

Jul 07, 2009 - Progressive groups and individuals are targeting the U.S. Chamber for its opposition to pretty much anything that makes life even "a little better for working people." Read more...

Workers to Out-of-State Corporate Lobbyists: Stop Lying about My Job

Jul 02, 2009 - In response to new ads from out-of-state corporate lobbyists spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act, Nebraska Change that Works issued this statement from North Platte cafeteria worker Trish Meuhlenkamp. Read more...

At Victory Rally, Al Franken Shouts Out to Labor, Union Health Insurance

Jul 01, 2009 - At his victory rally today in Minneapolis, Senator-Elect (finally!) Al Franken spoke to an enthusiastic crowd about the race and what he's expecting in Washington. According to The Hill, Franken gave two important shout-outs in his speech: one to his "brothers and sisters in labor," and the other to his union's health insurance plan. Read more...

Bank of America's Employees: The Other Side of the Financial Crisis

Jul 01, 2009 - According to the Associated Press, Bank of America "encouraged" its employees to "burden consumers with debt and enroll them in high-fee programs." Fed up with these unsavory practices, Bank of America workers are speaking out. Sign our petition in support of protections for bank employees. We'll deliver your petition directly to Members of Congress working on financial reform. Read more...

Working families need Al Franken in the U.S. Senate

Jun 30, 2009 - The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that Al Franken won the state's U.S. Senate election last November against incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). Read more...

Bank of America Workers Speak Out About Anti-Consumer Practices

Jun 30, 2009 - Today Bank of America workers are speaking out about BofA's anti-consumer sales practices and failed banking model. In articles from the LA Times and Associated Press today, current and former Bank of America employees talk about how Bank of America "encouraged" its employees to "burden consumers with debt and enroll them in high-fee programs." BofA employees also allege the bank targets low-income working people and Latinos who can't afford and don't need the products that bury them in debt. Read more...

Canadian court rescinds Weyburn Wal-Mart workers' union certification

Jun 29, 2009 - Workers at Weyburn first voted for union representation over four years ago, and Wal-Mart stalled and threw up every road block they could to keep the workers from getting a fair deal. And now, a Saskatchewan judge has essentially ruled that because labor laws have changed since the Weyburn Wal-Mart workers legally won union representation, these workers are no longer represented by a union. Read more...

Farmers and Ranchers for Employee Free Choice

Jun 28, 2009 - A new rural coalition to support the Employee Free Choice Act launched this week: Farmers and Ranchers for Employee Free Choice. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Corporate Ad Fact Check: "Poison"

Jun 25, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce-backed corporate front group Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is out with a new video filled with falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act. Their new video, produced by GOP and corporate ad man Mike Murphy, peddles thoroughly debunked lies and misinformation about the bill. Watch our fact check. Read more...

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis "Absolutely" supports Employee Free Choice

Jun 24, 2009 - While in LA, Solis spoke on worker-friendly measures she will be fighting to pass in her new role as the Secretary of Labor, giving her unequivocal endorsement for the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU to Citigroup: Ensure raises go to workers, not top execs

Jun 24, 2009 - According to the New York Times, Citigroup is raising salaries by as much as 50 percent for investment bankers and other top executives, to accommodate for smaller annual bonuses. Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union released a statement in reaction to the news. Read more...

Workers Denied Contracts by Their Employers: Arbitration Needed in Labor Law Reform

Jun 23, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Catholic Bishops and Labor Unions Announce Agreement on Respecting the Rights of Healthcare Workers

Jun 22, 2009 - 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. Read more...

U.S. Chamber to the Senate: Unions are right, we're total hypocrites

Jun 18, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce just released a letter to the Senate, detailing the corporate group's hypocrisy in opposing first contract arbitration in the Employee Free Choice Act. The U.S. Chamber was apparently reeling from recent newspaper ads highlighting their two-faced approach to the issue, and wanted to explain itself to the Senate. Read more...

Round One of U.S. Chamber's "Free Enterprise" Campaign? Opposing Consumer Protections.

Jun 17, 2009 - We learn today that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is adamantly opposed to a consumer-friendly regulatory agency. Read more...

U.S. Chamber and Tyson Foods Fought Workplace Safety Measures

Jun 16, 2009 - On Friday, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled that Tyson Foods Inc. must pay a $500,000 fine for "willfully" violating workplace safety regulations that led to the 2003 death of Jason Kelley, a maintenance worker at its River Valley Animal Foods plant in Texarkana. Read more...

Big Business' Two-Faced Approach to Arbitration

Jun 16, 2009 - Many corporations--like the Chamber-- 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. 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. Read more...

U.S. District Court: Tysons Food Worker Death Could Have Been Prevented

Jun 16, 2009 - Tyson Foods and the US Chamber of Commerce are actively fighting workplace safety measures that could have prevented the tragic death of a Tyson Foods worker, said Rev. Copley today. Read more...

We thought an elephant never forgot?

Jun 16, 2009 - The National Republican Senatorial Committee is planning on going after Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), according to a Roll Call article today. Yet the NRSC seems to have already forgotten the lessons of the 2008 campaigns, in which groups spent millions attacking Democrats on Employee Free Choice only to see those candidates go on to win--with voters approving Employee Free Choice by a considerable margin. Read more...

CNBC Fail: Anchors compare Iran elections to Employee Free Choice Act

Jun 16, 2009 - Yesterday, CNBC's Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett made a ridiculous, irresponsible statement. Cramer and Burnett compared the aftermath of Iran's recent election to what would happen under the Employee Free Choice Act. This is irresponsible journalism at its "finest." Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett need to hear from you now about their reckless reporting. Read more...

Stop Squeezing the Middle Class: Former Labor Secretaries Reich and Marshall on Employee Free Choice

Jun 15, 2009 - 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 and Ray Marshall 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 necessary if our economy is to succeed. Read more...

Colorado Small Businesses Endorse Employee Free Choice Act

Jun 11, 2009 - Today, 225 Colorado businesses released a "directory" featuring businesses that support the Employee Free Choice Act. In this economic crisis, we have a duty to support entrepreneurs and start-up companies in building sustainable, long-term successful businesses, rather than being forced to compete against irresponsible companies in an unwinnable, low-wage race to the bottom. Read more...

Danny Glover: "Binding Arbitration, Sooner the Better"

Jun 10, 2009 - Hollywood actor Danny Glover has always used his celebrity to support unions and organizing drives, pro-worker political candidates and the Employee Free Choice Act, saying "I will always be a union activist, and I am proud of that." Today on the Huffington Post, Glover urges binding arbitration as a path to end to the conflict around the dissolution of the UNITE HERE merger. Read more...

SEIU exposes U.S. Chamber of Commerce's record of fighting common-sense legislation

Jun 10, 2009 - The very same day that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced a $100 million campaign to "defend the free market system," SEIU announced a campaign of its own: to expose the Chamber's record of opposing working families and common-sense legislation that would help our economy. Read more...

New online campaign for Employee Free Choice: Stand with working people, not greedy CEOs

Jun 10, 2009 - Yesterday SEIU launched an online campaign asking senators to stand with working people, not greedy CEOs, on the Employee Free Choice Act. In addition to putting out the four web videos, the SEIU is also launching email campaigns targeting the five senators, with much the same message and aim. Read more...

On Heels of Chamber's Failed Lobby Day, SEIU Asks Senators to Stand With Working Families, Not Greedy Corporate Lobbyists

Jun 10, 2009 - Just days after the Chamber of Commerce hosted an embarrassing anti-Employee Free Choice Act Lobby Day--an effort that succeeded in getting two Senators to reinforce their support for the legislation, and that featured a major labor law violator--SEIU today released a series of ads calling on targeted Senators to "stand with working families," not "the CEO bullies of Wall Street." Read more...

Senator Specter, Stand with Us

Jun 09, 2009 - Some of the biggest corporations in America are lining up to fight Pennsylvania's working people. They're spending millions of dollars - some of it your tax dollars from the bailouts! - to stop corporations from being held accountable. Read more...

Tell the Senate: Don't Listen to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Jun 05, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce really stepped in it this week. The multi-million dollar corporate group flew in hundreds of CEOs and other businesspeople to pressure your senators into doing nothing to help working people. But boy, did it not go well for the U.S. Chamber. Write to your senators now. Read more...

The Chamber of Commerce and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lobbying Day

Jun 04, 2009 - From the moment they flew people to Washington, DC to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, things were just not going the Chamber of Commerce's way...From bringing a major labor law violator to lobby on behalf of (wait for it...) labor law reform, to getting caught in a lie by Sen. Feinstein, this can't be how the Chamber wanted their lobbying week to go. Read more...

Denied the Right to Bargain: Why We Need First Contract Arbitration

Jun 04, 2009 - The goal of workers seeking to form a union is to sit at the table with the employer and bargain an agreement on their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Gaining union representation can be a long and arduous process for workers. Even when workers are able to form a union, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) fails them because so many are denied the right to collectively bargain with their employer. Read more...

Industrial and Labor Relations Expert: The System Is Failing

Jun 03, 2009 - In an opinion piece published by the Washington Post this morning, industrial and labor relations scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner writes about the obstacles facing workers today. The system itself, she states, is failing "to defend workers' rights in a timely manner" and creates "delays that favor employers." That, in itself, is a large reason to support the Employee Free Choice's "first contract arbitration" section. Read more...

Stern: Unionized companies are a driving force in our economy

Jun 03, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Morning Joe Team Wakes Up on Wrong Side of Bed, Goes on Anti-Union Tirade

Jun 03, 2009 - This morning, the Morning Joe crew of MSNBC decided to go on an anti-union tirade. Clearly, they didn't drink the coffee handed to them by their unionized colleagues that help to get their show in the air. After a rant from "smart" money man Jim Cramer (who, in recent months, has admitted that he's "gotten a lot of things wrong" and that he "should do a better job") on the terribleness of unions, the entire on-air team decided to weigh in. Read more...

Union Freedom Ride A Smashing Success

Jun 02, 2009 - On Sunday morning, workers from across the state took off in their motorcycle and started a one-day trip through Central and Eastern Nebraska. Read more...

Small Business Owner: Chamber of Commerce Speaks for Me like Burger King Speaks for Cows

Jun 02, 2009 - Today, Maine small business owner Ben Wootten spoke out on the congressional lobbying organized by the Chamber of Commerce against the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Survey Results: The American Dream and the New Progressive Majority

Jun 02, 2009 - Change to Win released the results of the seventh in its ongoing series of American Dream surveys today, measuring views on how strong majorities of working Americans view the economy, the role of government, the American Dream, and the action agenda that is at the heart of the new progressive majority. Read more...

155 Academics Urge Sen. Specter to Support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Jun 01, 2009 - 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. Read more...

On the ground in Omaha for the Union Freedom Ride...

May 30, 2009 - I'm on the ground in Omaha, NE. On May 31, many of your fellow Nebraskans will ride from Grand Island to Omaha, in order to show their support for unions and the Employee Free Choice Act. I'll be covering them, and telling you the stories they tell me after I finish riding with them. Read more...

Little Rock Worker Wants Employee Free Choice

May 28, 2009 - Kanisha knows working families in Arkansas need Employee Free Choice, and she's working hard to make that happen. Join the Arkansas Change that Works campaign and help improve the quality of life of Arkansas workers. Read more...

Blinding Greed

May 28, 2009 - An editorial in today's Wall Street Journal paints the current contract negotiation process as something that "works." Ask anyone who's been through the process, and they'll tell you that it works - but only for corporations. The employees, instead, tend to get the shaft. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of workers who form a union still don't have a contract after one year, and companies refuse to negotiate in good faith in over 28 percent of cases. Read more...

Colorado Needs the Employee Free Choice Act

May 28, 2009 - Union members across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages were on average 11.3 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, American workers that join a union will earn 11.3 percent more--or $2.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. Read more...

North Dakota Needs the Employee Free Choice Act

May 28, 2009 - Union Members in North Dakota and Across the Country Earn Significantly More Than Non-Union Workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in North Dakota were on average 13.8 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, North Dakota workers that join a union will earn 13.8 percent more--or $2.28 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. Read more...

Southside Supports Rebuilding an Economy that Works for Everyone

May 28, 2009 - On Thursday, May 28, members of the Martinsville community joined together to show broad support for the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform. Martinsville has been hit hard by the recession, with 20% unemployment and health care coverage increasingly unaffordable. Read more...

Pennsylvania Needs the Employee Free Choice Act

May 28, 2009 - Union members in Pennsylvania and across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. "Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in Pennsylvania were on average 9.4 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, Pennsylvania workers that join a union will earn 9.4 percent more--or $1.77 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts." Read more...

Nebraska Needs the Employee Free Choice Act

May 28, 2009 - Union Members in Nebraska and Across the Country Earn Significantly More Than Non-Union Workers.Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in Nebraska were on average 13.7 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else being the same, Nebraska workers that join a union will earn 13.7 percent more--or $2.40 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. Read more...

California Needs the Employee Free Choice Act

May 28, 2009 - Union members in California and across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in California were on average 12.7 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. Read more...

President Bartlett Pledges to Pass The Employee Free Choice Act

May 27, 2009 - You may have heard of President Obama's support for the Employee Free Choice Act, but today, Catholics for Working Families is launching an ad with another president's endorsement: President Bartlett (or, as he's known in the real world, Martin Sheen). Read more...

Sierra Club President Allison Chin: "An economy that treats workers fairly is fundamentally better for our planet"

May 27, 2009 - To mark the occasion of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Sierra Club President Allison Chin addressed a group of SEIU employees during a lunch lecture on the topics of grassroots activism, the Employee Free Choice Act and working together with labor in the Blue Green Alliance. Read more...

Stop Starbucks: Coffee Conglomerate Blocks Baristas from Joining Unions

May 26, 2009 - Our friends at Brave New Films are out with their latest campaign to expose corporate opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act. Next up: Starbucks. Read more...

Big Interest Groups Throw a Hail Mary on Employee Free Choice

May 22, 2009 - A newly-formed coalition of religious leaders and people of faith--Faith Leaders for Workplace Fairness--publicly announced their support for the labor reform bill on a conference call with press last week, calling the legislation a "moral imperative" and a civil and human right. Over the last few days, several conservative websites and corporate interests have decided that such a coalition is unacceptable, because they apparently own all the stock on religion. Read more...

Job Loss Bad for Your Wallet AND Health (Employee Free Choice Act to the rescue!)

May 21, 2009 - Adding injury to insult, it turns out losing your job isn't just detrimental to your bank account: it's also bad for your physical and physiological health, according to a study in the latest issue of Demography. Read more...

No holiday for Health Care and Employee Free Choice campaigns

May 21, 2009 - Harley riders. Pancake breakfasts. Governor Howard Dean. What do they all have in common? They're just a few of the unique ways that SEIU's keeping our campaigns for health care reform and Employee Free Choice moving during the Memorial Day recess. Read more...

Sign Up and Tell Mark Fahelson: Walk A Day In Our Shoes

May 21, 2009 - On May 18th, Mark Fahelson, the Nebraska Republican Party Chairman, wrote an op-ed in Midland Voices entitled "Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act Only Sensible." We keep hearing parroted talking points and rhetoric from corporate-backed Republicans, when what we need to hear are the facts behind a bill that will help working families who are struggling to have a voice in their workplace. Read more...

People of Faith, Sen. Harkin Deliver Strong Message to Congress for Employee Free Choice

May 20, 2009 - Over 50 religious leaders from a range of diverse faiths and denominations came to Washington, DC to lobby members of Congress on support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The lobbying day begin with an early a.m. prayer breakfast at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, followed a by press conference held with Sen. Tom Harkin. Check out our video of the event. Read more...

Missoulian Endorses Free Choice to Rebuild Middle Class

May 20, 2009 - 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. Read more...

New Research Shows Rise of Corporate Intimidation and Threats Towards Workers for Supporting a Union

May 20, 2009 - The current system to form a union in the workplace is grossly slanted in favor of employers who too often use harassment and intimidation to stop unions and keep workers from getting a fair deal--and it's only gotten worse in recent years. A new EPI report reveals that employer tactics against workers' efforts to form unions have increased and become more punitive than in the past. Read more...

Media Advisory: Faith Leaders Converge on Washington to Lobby Congress on Employee Free Choice Act

May 19, 2009 - More than 50 interfaith leaders from across the country will fly to Washington, DC tomorrow, lobbying Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Hampton Worker Writes, "Level the Playing Field"

May 19, 2009 - Billy Mason works at a manufacturing company in Hampton, Virginia. After 24 years of service, Mason saw a decrease in real wages; health and retirement benefits. Mason believed that the only recourse for him and his fellow workers was to organize. The company fought him and fellow organizers steadfastly with smear and fear campaign speeches by management before each shift. Read more...

Dick Cheney: Wrong on Employee Free Choice (And Everything Else)

May 15, 2009 - Dick Cheney is out from his undisclosed location, this time with his sights set on the Employee Free Choice Act. In an interview with FOX News this week, Cheney criticized the Employee Free Choice Act while claiming to not be against working people. Watch our video on Dick's "greatest hits" here. Read more...

Why, What a Nice Plant You Have, Rick Berman

May 15, 2009 - You may remember Rick Berman from such corporate farces as, "Pesticides: Kids Love 'Em!" and "Second Hand Smoke: You Have Two Lungs for a Reason." Now get ready for the latest episode in Rick Berman's corporate hackery: planting a former employee and Wal-Mart lobbyist as a "Democrat against the Employee Free Choice Act." Read more...

The Epic Battle for Employee Free Choice
Heats Up

May 14, 2009 - Read more...

President Obama Reaffirms Support for the Employee Free Choice Act

May 14, 2009 - In a town hall meeting today in New Mexico, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to passing the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would allow workers to bargain with their employers for better job security, wages and benefits. Watch Read more...

Big Business Loves to Choose (When They Choose Themselves)

May 14, 2009 - In today's Washington Post, political columnist Harold Meyerson explains the importance of first contract arbitration in the Employee Free Choice Act, which is the second main plank of the legislation. Read more...

New Video: The Epic Battle for Employee Free Choice

May 14, 2009 - Corporate lobbyists and executives are gearing up for their next round of attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act. But the next battle is bound to show them for who they are: greedy people who will do anything to hold onto their power. Watch our tongue-in-cheek video here. Read more...

Newt takes page out of Kanye playbook; enraged over Twitterjacking

May 14, 2009 - Lately a twitterer in the name of EFCANow has taken to trying to convert followers of Republicans Newt Gingrich and Saul Anuzis to sign a pro-Employee Free Choice petition--and Newt and Saul are so mad about it they're threatening to sue. Read more...

National RN Day of Action

May 13, 2009 - Hundreds of nurses from SEIU, CNA and UAN convened in Washington, DC today for a national RN day of action. The day's activities included a morning nurses' conference, followed by a march to Upper Senate Park that grew in size along the way, gathering 500 nurses and another 500 patient advocates to rally for comprehensive health care reform. Read more...

Virginia Home Care Workers Speak Out for the Union

May 13, 2009 - Home care workers and supporters describe their struggle for wage increases, health care and better working conditions. They tout the Employee Free Choice Act because it will allow workers to organize easier and pave the way for a better quality of life. Listen as one of the workers describes historical struggles the Virginia coal miners endured prior to organizing. Read more...

Congratulations, Jim Suttle

May 13, 2009 - Congratulations, Jim Suttle! With news of Jim Suttle's election as the next mayor of Omaha, working families have just gained a powerful ally in our state's largest city. Suttle has been a tireless champion of middle class issues, and we simply couldn't be happier to see this hard fought victory. Read more...

Video: Anna Burger on Labor's Role in Democracy

May 13, 2009 - "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 SEIU's Anna Burger in an interview with the Brennan Center for Justice. "It raised the standards across America in terms of wages, healthcare, retirement security and the ability to give our kids a better life." Read more...

VP Biden's renewed support for Employee Free Choice: "If a union is what you want, then a union is what you should get"

May 13, 2009 - VP Joe Biden demonstrated once again today that he and the Obama administration stand firmly with working families in supporting passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Biden reiterated his opinion that labor unions are a big part of the solution in rebuilding our economy, saying there is "no way" for the administration to "level the playing field" without strengthening organized labor. Read more...

Maine's Veterans Support Employee Free Choice

May 12, 2009 - Last week, a group of Maine veterans gathered together in Portland to voice their support for the Employee Free Choice Act--and it's not only Maine's veterans who support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Religious Leaders Call on Congress to Pass Employee Free Choice Act

May 12, 2009 - Prominent interfaith leaders today called on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, calling it a "moral imperative" and a civil and human right. Read more...

As part of President Obama's Job Creation Plan, SEIU Calls for Passage of Employee Free Choice Act

May 11, 2009 - As President Obama laid out his latest plans to help the nation's unemployed millions, SEIU President Andy Stern called on Congress to implement the Employee Free Choice Act as a priority part of the President's job creation plan. Read more...

US Chamber: We Hate Arbitration. Except For When We Love It.

May 08, 2009 - In a post on the US Chamber of Commerce's blog, Brad Peck attempts to argue against our point that corporate lobby groups - such as the Chamber itself - were long for arbitration before they started assailing the process as a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad thing. Read more...

SEIU to Congress: Pass Employee Free Choice Act As Part of Obama's Job Creation Plan

May 08, 2009 - As President Obama laid out his latest plans to help the nation's unemployed millions, SEIU International President Andy Stern today called on Congress to implement the Employee Free Choice Act as a priority part of the President's job creation plan. Read more...

Watch Live: Can the Netroots help make the Employee Free Choice Act law?

May 08, 2009 - SEIU's Michael Whitney is part of a round-table organized by Netroots Nation: "Can the Netroots help make the Employee Free Choice Act law?" It's on right now, from noon until 2pm ET, and you can watch it live. Read more...

Corporate Lobbyists: We Were for Arbitration Before We Were Against It

May 07, 2009 - In a new round of attacks against the Employee Free Choice Act, corporate lobbyists and executives are showing their true, greedy selves. In recent weeks, corporate lobbyist groups such as the Center for Union Facts, the Chamber of Commerce, and conservatives like Newt Gingrich, have waged war to prevent workers from enjoying what CEOs take for granted: a contract. Read more...

Corporate Lobbyists Attacking Employee Free Choice Act Show True Colors, Oppose Rules to Rein in Greedy CEOs

May 07, 2009 - Corporate lobbyists attacking the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that would allow workers to bargain with their employers for better job security, wages and benefits, are showing their true colors when it comes to rules intended to rein in greedy CEOs. Read more...

SEIU Members in Florida Defeat Anti-Union Ballot Initiative Designed to Undercut Workers' Rights

May 06, 2009 - SEIU members in Florida have helped beat an anti-union ballot initiative designed to undermine Employee Free Choice and deny workers their rights. Through a grassroots campaign, Florida members defeated the so-called "Save Our Secret Ballot" (SOSB) initiative, part of a national campaign led by big business and right-wing think tanks. Read more...

Veterans gather to discuss the economy, their experiences and solutions for rebuilding our economy

May 06, 2009 - On Tuesday afternoon a diverse group of veterans came together to discuss the economic challenges Mainers and veterans are facing every day; and, practical solutions to confront those challenges head on. Read more...

YouTube Video Contest: Why the Employee Free Choice Act & being in a union is important to LGBT workers

May 06, 2009 - To help give discrimination the "one two" punch, Stonewall Democrats and Pride At Work recently launched SharedAgenda.org to build support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Employee Free Choice Act. Join this campaign by submitting a video that explains to Americans why we need to quickly pass both pieces of pro-equality legislation. Read more...

Mr Bennet Comes to Denver

May 05, 2009 - Last Saturday, Sen. Michael Bennet met and spoke with nurses, security officers, janitors, and other union members from across Colorado at a townhall meeting about the Employee Free Choice Act and the immediate need for health care reform. Read more...

Our Letter to Bank of America's New Chairman

May 05, 2009 - Last week, Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, was ousted by the company's shareholders from his position as chairman of the board. At the same time, nearly 100,000 of you signed "taxpayer proxy cards" calling for Lewis' removal as CEO. Read more...

How (Not) to Join a Union

May 05, 2009 - Ever wonder how, exactly unions are formed? The Center for American Progress is out with a new video that explains the process step-by-step. Read more...

Your Voices: What Sen. Specter's Announcement Means for Us

May 04, 2009 - If you thought that Sen. Specter's party-affiliation change from a Republican to a Democrat meant an automatic endorsement from labor unions for his 2010 election...think again. In the memo Andy Stern sent to PA members late last week, he affirmed that we will maintain our ramped-up efforts to reach out to the Senator and let our concerns be known on the need for reform to our nation's labor laws. Read more...

New video shows anti-worker tactics Wal-Mart uses against employees

May 01, 2009 - A new documentary by UFCW that tells the story of Wal-Mart's war on their own workers. In the video, ten workers from coast-to-coast detail the company's response to their organizing efforts (hint: it's not exactly warm and fuzzy). Read more...

Los Angeles City Council Votes 13 to 1 in favor of Employee Free Choice

May 01, 2009 - Hours before the Bank of America: Enough action in Los Angeles April 28, the city council voted 13 to 1 for a resolution supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Home Care Workers Unite With SEIU in Ontario and Nevada

Apr 30, 2009 - Home care workers from Ontario and Nevada are the latest workers to join SEIU in their growing campaign to raise standards and improve the quality of home care across North America and and set higher standards for thousands of home care aides. Read more...

The Big News - And What You Can Do NOW

Apr 30, 2009 - Senator Arlen Specter joined hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have left the Republican Party and announced that he would become a Democrat. In the past, he's risen above above partisanship to support working people - and we've worked with him on many important issues. Read more...

Obama's First 100 Days: What he's done for workers

Apr 29, 2009 - Today marks the 100th day Obama has been in the Oval Office. "President Obama has made it clear from day one that we will not be able to rebuild our economy stronger than it was without a greater voice, and greater prosperity, for American workers," said SEIU's Anna Burger, highlighting workers' engagement during the Administration's first 100 days. Read more...

Video: 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" Delivered to Bank of America

Apr 29, 2009 - Earlier, we delivered your 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" to Bank of America, directly before the annual shareholder meeting. Read more...

Pictures from Today's Rally in Charlotte

Apr 29, 2009 - Fresh in from North Carolina, here are some picture's from today's event outside of the Bank of America annual shareholder's meeting, where we presented Bank of America with over 90,000 "Taxpayer's Proxy Cards." Read more...

Bank of America: In The Doghouse?

Apr 29, 2009 - For a while, we've been saying that people are a little ticked at Bank of America's practices. We apologize to our canine friends, who, it appears, are also joining the movement for real reform at Bank of America. Read more...

Grand Total: Over 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" Signed and Delivered

Apr 29, 2009 - Just moments ago, we delivered over 90,000 "Taxpayers Proxy Cards" to Bank of America. Who are these 90,000 people? They're an eclectic mix of those who signed on the Internet and those who joined one of 100 actions yesterday, out there in your community. Read more...

The Billboard That Haunts Ken Lewis' Dreams

Apr 29, 2009 - If you're in Charlotte, NC today, be on the lookout for this giant, moving billboard. Read more...

Bank of America Blog Roundup, April 29th 2009

Apr 29, 2009 - Our Take Back The Economy campaign is picking up some steam on the web, with a good number of blogs covering our events from yesterday and today. Read more...

Video: SEIU President Andy Stern Speaks at Rally in NYC

Apr 29, 2009 - We've just received video from the New York City's Take Back The Economy event, where SEIU President Andy Stern and event attendees delivered a "Taxpayer's Proxy" card to the Bank of America headquarters. Watch the video here. Read more...

Video: Take Back The Economy Rally in Washington, DC

Apr 28, 2009 - Today, SEIU's Executive Vice President, Eliseo Medina, led a rally in front of a Bank of America branch near the White House. Watch it here. Read more...

Andy Stern's Statement on Senator Arlen Specter

Apr 28, 2009 - Statement from SEIU President Andy Stern on Sen. Specter's announcement that he is switching political parties to become a Democrat. Read more...

Taxpayers Rally in Providence

Apr 28, 2009 - Taxpayers are rallying in dozens of cities across the country today calling for Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis to go. Today's events are off to a great start. Here's a snapshot from the event in Providence. Read more...

Fire Ken Lewis!

Apr 28, 2009 - Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis' failed policies have wreaked havoc on the economy. Taxpayers are getting together all over the country today to say that enough is enough and it is time for Lewis to go! Read more...

VOTE for Limbaugh as Worst Media Moment of Obama's First 100 Days

Apr 27, 2009 - Our friends over at Media Matters are asking online readers to watch a selection of the most outrageous media moments from the first 100 days, and vote for which you think is the worst. For us, the winner here is pretty clear: Rush Limbaugh's choice words on Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

US bailout for offshored jobs?

Apr 27, 2009 - More than 20,000 people have already signed "taxpayer proxy cards" asking for CEO Ken Lewis to be fired and to reform Bank of America. Can you help us reach 30,000 in the next 48 hours? Read more...

Bank of America: So, About that "America" Part of Our Name

Apr 27, 2009 - While the US taxpayer has been more than generous towards Bank of America, giving the bank up to $199.2 billion in federal assistance, CEO Ken Lewis hasn't exactly returned the favor. Read more...

Arkansas Worker Shown the Door for Talking About Workplace Safety

Apr 27, 2009 - Rhonda Woods lives in Paris, Arkansas and until recently worked on a factory floor. When she brought up potentially unsafe working conditions to her boss, she was told: "If you don't like it, there's the door." Read more...

When $45 Billion is Really $199.2 Billion

Apr 24, 2009 - If you've been following the news, you know by now that Bank of America is in debt to the American taxpayer in the amount of $45 billion - the amount of TARP funds (aka "bailout money") that they received since last year. But it turns out that a figure that you likely haven't heard - 199.2 billion - paints a bit more of an accurate number on how much Bank of America will most likely "borrow" from the American people. Read more...

Letter to the Editor: "A Matter of Fairness"

Apr 23, 2009 - Across the state of Maine, people are speaking out for the Employee Free Choice Act. The hard-working families of Maine deserve the right to form unions without harassment, and to reap the benefits of unionization: better working wages and quality, affordable health care. Read more...

Pennsylvania Workers Try to Meet with Arlen Specter

Apr 23, 2009 - Last week, hundreds of workers gathered together on a blustery day to tell us why we need the Employee Free Choice Act now. Read more...

Earth Day Means Clean Green Jobs for Working People

Apr 22, 2009 - This Earth Day marks a turning point in the environmental movement, with union members speaking out more than ever before for "good jobs, green jobs" and a clean energy economy. Read more...

Maine's Workers Travel To DC to Meet with Senators

Apr 22, 2009 - This Wednesday, Maine's workers traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Our Maine workers are making the trip all the way down to our nation's capitol to personally urge the senators to support Maine's workers by saying YES to the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Yes, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Supports the Employee Free Choice Act

Apr 21, 2009 - Despite some unbalanced reporting, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis's support for the Employee Free Choice Act is not remotely in question. Secretary Solis's labor record is beyond reproach, and her support for the Employee Free Choice Act has never wavered. Read more...

In Case You Missed It: Rallies, Events Continue Across the Country in Support of Employee Free Choice Act

Apr 17, 2009 - In Washington, they may have questioned whether the Employee Free Choice Act battle was drawing to a close. Good thing no one told the rest of the country, where rallies and activities in favor of the bill are going strong. From Maine to North Dakota, activists gathered to tell their Senators, the time for the Employee Free Choice Act is now. Read more...

Fire CEO Ken Lewis

Apr 15, 2009 - Read more...

Fire CEO Ken Lewis: Sign Your Taxpayer Proxy

Apr 15, 2009 - While Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, is calling for business as usual, taxpayers are calling for change. It's time for Bank of America to stop the policies and practices that helped crash our economy and hurts its customers with unfair fees and hidden costs. Read more...

Nebraska, not DC

Apr 15, 2009 - Now, in my experience, there aren't that many cherry blossoms in Nebraska this time a year. Or statues of Civil War generals. Or, uh, White Houses. But for whatever reason, that's the backdrop the Chamber of Commerce has chosen for their new anti-Employee Free Choice Act attack ad in the state, an ad whose theme of is supposedly "You can't let Washington tell Nebraskans what to do." Read more...

SEIU to Chamber of Commerce: Stop Using Taxpayer Bailout Funds to Undermine Working Families

Apr 14, 2009 - On their blog yesterday afternoon, the Chamber of Commerce admitted to accepting dues from member companies who have received taxpayer bailout money. The Chamber of Commerce must stop accepting taxpayer funds to lobby against taxpayer interests that would improve the lives of hardworking Americans. Read more...

"Faces of Employee Free Choice" come to Colorado

Apr 14, 2009 - This past week, the Employee Free Choice Act came home to Colorado in a way that hadn't been seen before: with a traveling billboard featuring two people whose lives would have been better had the act been in place. Read more...

Video: Why Working Families Need the Employee Free Choice Act

Apr 13, 2009 - In their own words, workers speak out about how the current system to form unions is broken--and why working families need the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Chamber of Commerce's New Anti-worker TV Ads: More of the Same

Apr 13, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching a $1 million television ad campaign this week against the Employee Free Choice Act--using the same, tired lines they've used in the past to defeat popular legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read more...

Tell Your Senator: Greed Must Go

Apr 09, 2009 - Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act: Paving the Road to Economic Recovery

Apr 09, 2009 - The Center for American Progress Report (CAP) is out, and the results are definitive: labor unions are a crucial part of fixing our economy. Read more...

Public Outrage Over Bank of America's Self-Serving, Predatory and Dangerous Practices Heats Up

Apr 08, 2009 - In recent weeks, there's been a growing chorus of public outrage over the lavish bonuses paid to bank executives like Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, whose self-serving profit schemes and risky financial deals led to today's economic collapse. Read more...

Senator Specter on the Employee Free Choice Act: Then and Now

Apr 07, 2009 - This morning Senator Arlen Specter appeared on MSNBC's and spoke about his new position on the Employee Free Choice Act -- which he formerly co-sponsored and now announced he will not even allow for debate on the bill. Read more...

New TV Ad for the Employee Free Choice Act: "Fabric of America"

Apr 03, 2009 - Politico reports on a new ad for the Employee Free Choice Act that debuts this weekend. Read more...

Depression in California's Inland Empire Shows Need for Employee Free Choice Act

Apr 02, 2009 - Tom Woodruff, the director of Change to Win's Strategic Organizing Center and an Executive VP at SEIU, has a piece in the Huffington Post that paints a picture of just how hard the economic crisis has hit workers in California's Inland Empire, where unemployment is above 12 percent Read more...

What happened when I talked about a union

Apr 01, 2009 - In 2007 alone, more than 29,000 workers were fired or disciplined for union activity. Trisha Miechur, a Certified Nurse Assistant at a ManorCare nursing home in Easton, PA, is one of those workers. Read more...

Joe the Plumber: Clueless on the Employee Free Choice Act

Apr 01, 2009 - "Joe the Plumber" campaigned across Pennsylvania to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act - the only problem is, he has no clue what he's talking about. When asked a basic question about the bill - that majority signup currently exists as a way for workers to join unions - Joe the Plumber's mental pipes got clogged. Watch this great video Read more...

Joe the Plumber Fights Employee Free Choice; Real Plumbers Fight Back

Apr 01, 2009 - Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher is back, still missing a plumbing license. That's not stopping him from lecturing actual plumbers -- some of them, I believe, actually named Joe -- about how unions somehow are conspiring to destroy civilization as we know it. Read more...

The Union Advantage for Women

Mar 31, 2009 - In 2007, women made up 45 percent of union members--and by 2020, women will be the majority of the unionized workforce. Women have a great deal to gain from unionization, as union victories work to pave the way for workers to bargain for affordable family health care, fair wages, improved working conditions, and a better life for their families. Read more...

'West Wing' actors join workers, members of Congress to unveil "Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act" campaign

Mar 31, 2009 - On Tuesday, March 31, Hollywood "West Wing" stars Martin Sheen and Bradley Whitford descended upon the nation's Capitol to join workers, union leaders and members of Congress for the unveiling of a new ad and grassroots campaign. Read more...

Jet-Setting CEOs

Mar 31, 2009 - Right now, Colorado CEOs are flying to Washington, DC to march on the offices of Colorado Senators Michael Bennet & Mark Udall. The CEOs - accompanied by corporate lobbyists - will demand that our senators refuse to level the playing... Read more...

Time to Fire Bank of America's Ken Lewis

Mar 31, 2009 - Read more...

Empowering Workers through Employee Free Choice

Mar 31, 2009 - Today, the Politico debuted a special section online and in print about the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Tell the Treasury: Fix Bank of America, Fire CEO Ken Lewis

Mar 31, 2009 - Firing GM's CEO is a positive step towards restructuring this critical American industry. But the Obama Administration needs to apply the same lesson to the financial sector: replace failed leadership and shepherd the industry into a new era. Sign our petition to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calling for Ken Lewis to be replaced as Bank of America CEO. Read more...

Making Work Pay with the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 30, 2009 - Almost as soon as she begin her new job as a housekeeper at Jorgensen's motel, Amy Swanson knew that the workplace conditions she and her coworkers were subjected to were untenable. There was no access to affordable healthcare and her wages were pitifully low. She and the other employees of the Helena, Montana motel had no job security, and little to no say in what their schedules would be from week-to-week. Read more...

Rep. Donna Edwards Answers Questions about the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 29, 2009 - Congresswoman Donna Edwards stopped by the blog Firedoglake.com Saturday afternoon to talk with supporters. The Employee Free Choice Act was the topic of many questions from commenters. Here's what Donna Edwards said. Read more...

Bailout Watchdog Team Drops by "Secret" Financial Services Roundtable Meeting

Mar 27, 2009 - Despite efforts by the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR)--the lobbying organization for banking and financial industries--to keep the location of their spring meeting secret, a group of spirited protesters found them yesterday in Washington, D.C. at the luxury hotel Read more...

Really? Joe The Plumber? Really?

Mar 27, 2009 - We've got some news that will leave you scratching your head and wondering, "when will he go away for good?" Joe the Plumber, who is neither Joe (his name is Sam) nor a licensed plumber has accepted an opportunity to become the new symbol and embodiment of the front groups campaigning against Employee Free Choice. Read more...

Arlen Specter: Don't Cave to Big Business

Mar 25, 2009 - We need Congress to act as swiftly on real economic recovery for working people in America as they did to bail out Wall Street. Senator Specter can bring this change - but he needs to hear from you now. Read more...

Small Business Owners Weigh In on Free Choice

Mar 25, 2009 - On Monday, the Senate Republican Conference held an Anti-Employee Free Choice hearing in Washington. The goal? Using the hearing as a mechanism to publicly trash components of Free Choice. Read more...

Statement from SEIU President Andy Stern on the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 24, 2009 - In the middle of this economic crisis, passing the Employee Free Choice Act is exactly the right thing to do to give workers the chance to level the playing field. Read more...

Don't Play Games with Atlantic City Casino Dealers

Mar 24, 2009 - The new Gaming Workers Council brings together four of the nation's largest labor unions to put the combined force of 15 million union members behind casino unionization drives across the country. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Gaming Division, SEIU, UAW and AFL-CIO are standing together on behalf of workers in the casino industry, concentrating on jump-starting stalled contract talks in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Detroit and Connecticut. Read more...

Rep. Miller, Sen. Harkin Statement Opposing "Alternative" to Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 23, 2009 - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) today said that a proposal unveiled by three companies this weekend as an alternative to the Employee Free Choice Act would further undermine workers' rights on the job. Read more...

Taxpayer money shouldn't be used to lobby against working peoples' interests

Mar 20, 2009 - Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, the recipients of TARP funds are instead using their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors--us. Read more...

Security Officers nationwide hitting the streets in support of the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 20, 2009 - After attending the National Worker Mobilization in Washington D.C. March 8-11, security officers returned to their home cities and spread out to talk to non-union security officers about the Employee Free Choice Act. Hundreds of security officers represented by SEIU spoke with more than 500 officers who currently don't have a union in 12 cities, signing them up to take action on the important worker legislation. Read more...

President Obama Reiterates Support for Making it Easier for Workers to Organize

Mar 20, 2009 - At the Costa Mesa town hall meeting this week, Obama reiterated his support for making it easier for workers to form unions to restore balance and improve millions of Americans' economic standing. Read more...

Wall Street Journal: Employee Free Choice Act "does not remove the secret ballot"

Mar 20, 2009 - Corporate front groups' one-line attack on the Employee Free Choice Act is the false claim that it somehow eliminates the secret ballot option for workers to join unions. But in this morning's Wall Street Journal, the paper's ed board admitted that argument just isn't true. Read more...

We Want Justice, Not Blood

Mar 19, 2009 - Yesterday, I sat for several hours in a House subcommittee meeting, waiting for a satisfying moment that never came. Scores of cameras, dozens of spectators, and the "Ladies in Pink" (who nearly got thrown out of the hearing for waving signs that said "Jail AIG") joined me as we waited for hours to hear from the CEO of AIG, Edward Liddy. Read more...

A Reality Check for AIG

Mar 19, 2009 - We've just returned from our local AIG headquarters here in D.C., where around 130 people stood in the rain to take part in our Take Back the Economy day of action. Demonstrators held signs, sang songs, and presented AIG with a "reality check" worth billions of dollars from the American people. Read more...

Take Back the Economy Actions: AIG Building Management Reacts

Mar 19, 2009 - Our action at the DC headquarters of "Bailout King" AIG just finished, but not before we obtained an internal email from building management in anticipation of our event. Read more...

Take Back the Economy Actions: Arrests at Peaceful Protest in Rhode Island

Mar 19, 2009 - We got word that our peaceful protest for TakeBackTheEconomy.org in Rhode Island was stopped by police with 8 arrests. Read more...

Putting Our Money Where Their Mouths Are

Mar 19, 2009 - Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, America's biggest banks have, instead, used their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors - us. Here's a quick look at a few of these groups. Read more...

March 19 Day of Action Against Corporate Excess

Mar 18, 2009 - As public anger erupts at over bonuses to AIG executives and almost daily revelations of abuses by Wall Street giants, we're channeling our frustration and anger into action that can make a difference. On Thursday, March 19, thousands of people nationwide will demonstrate outside major banks and demand real change. Read more...

Surprise! Rush Gets It Wrong on Free Choice

Mar 18, 2009 - The always-entertaining leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, had these words to say about Employee Free Choice today: "One day, Tony Soprano will walk in with a lead pipe and he will start beating people upside the head to vote to unionize." Read more...

Had Enough of Corporate Greed and Irresponsibilty? Join Nationwide Actions Today

Mar 18, 2009 - Read more...

From Reno to Capitol Hill

Mar 18, 2009 - This week has been quite the whirlwind. I left my home in Reno to join coworkers from my hospital (and hundreds of other SEIU members from across the country) to talk to our elected officials in Washington, DC about the need for the Employee Free Choice Act, and why giving workers a voice will help get our country back on track. Read more...

SEIU Workers on Why They Want a Union

Mar 17, 2009 - With corporate interest groups going on the attack around the Employee Free Choice Act, workers are now speaking out about why they want to join a union and the employer resistance and intimidation they've encountered when trying to organize their workplace. Watch SEIU workers share their stories about why the Employee Free Choice Act matters to them. Read more...

Congressman Boren and Cintas Hanging You Out to Dry

Mar 17, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Gallup Poll: Majority of Americans Support the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 17, 2009 - Read more...

Gallup Poll: Majority of Americans Support the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 17, 2009 - In the first independent poll conducted this year on the issue, Americans are firmly and overwhelmingly in support of not only the Employee Free Choice Act, but of workers' rights and of labor in general. Read more...

SEIU Workers on Why They Want a Union (Video Feature)

Mar 16, 2009 - Read more...

Had enough of corporate irresponsibility?

Mar 16, 2009 - Word broke yesterday that despite being crowned the "Bailout King," AIG is going to pay out more than $400 million in bonuses. We've had enough. On Thursday, March 19, thousands of people nationwide will demonstrate outside major banks and demand real change. Read more...

New Sheriff in Town: Labor Secretary Solis Takes Oath of Office

Mar 16, 2009 - On Friday morning, former California Rep. Hilda Solis was officially sworn in as Secretary of Labor by Vice President Joe Biden at the U.S. Dept. of Labor headquarters. The confirmation of Hilda Solis as labor secretary is a momentous occasion that SEIU and organized labor had been anticipating--and fighting for--since Barack Obama first nominated her in mid-December for the position. Read more...

About That New "Study" Funded by Front Groups that Oppose Free Choice...

Mar 13, 2009 - This week, opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act have been pointing to a fundamentally flawed study, whose findings claim that the US will lose 600,000 jobs in the year 2010 if the Employee Free Choice Act passes. The findings of the study itself, we found, have no external validity. Read more...

O'Reilly Responds

Mar 13, 2009 - Bill O'Reilly refused the challenge to come walk a day in our shoes, because he's already "been to those places." While he may have visited Billings, Montana, we seriously doubt he's spent a day there caring for a sick patient, or keeping an office building secure in Chicago. Read more...

"Crackpot Economics" from Big Business

Mar 11, 2009 - Corporate-backed opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act are out with their latest Big Lie. A coalition of industry groups commissioned a "study" that claims the unemployment increases as more workers join unions. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced in Congress

Mar 10, 2009 - Read more...

What is the media saying about yesterday's Employee Free Choice rally?

Mar 10, 2009 - Yesterday, hundreds of workers from across the country rallied at the offices of major corporate industry associations to expose the huge scope of their DC lobbying against measures that could help working people in today's economy. We've compiled a short round-up of the media coverage surrounding SEIU's demonstrations - here are a few highlights. Read more...

Five Things to Know about the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 10, 2009 - 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.) Read more...

Today's the day

Mar 10, 2009 - An important step toward restoring balance and fairness to our economy was taken today--the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate. SEIU President Andy Stern and SEIU member Regina Schwartz recorded a video message for you about the Employee Free Choice Act. Please watch the video and ask your Members of Congress to actively support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced

Mar 10, 2009 - Today is the day. At 12:15 today, Congress officially introduced the Employee Free Choice Act. This much-needed bill will help our country's economic recovery and help restore the middle class. Watch SEIU President Andy Stern speaking about why America's middle class needs the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced Tomorrow in House, Senate

Mar 09, 2009 - The Politico reports that tomorrow both houses of Congress will introduce the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows workers to decide for themselves how they'd like to form a union rather than management making that decision for them. Read more...

What a Week for SEIU's "Scary Movie"

Mar 06, 2009 - Since "Scary Movie - The Horror of the Employee Free Choice Act" was unleashed, it's been watched on YouTube more than 100,000 times, with 350+ comments from viewers who wanted to share their thoughts and opinions. We wanted to share some of our favorite comments from YouTube with you - check them out. Read more...

Let's Dance

Mar 05, 2009 - Let's dance. That's what Vice President Joe Biden told union members today in Florida. What's got the Vice President ready to tango? The Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU's National Worker Mobilization for Employee Free Choice

Mar 05, 2009 - On Monday, religious leaders, and community allies will join hundreds of workers for a 3 p.m. rally across from the Chamber of Commerce to tell corporate CEOs to stop standing in the way of an economy that works for everyone. Read more...

Taking Cover: Analysis Shows Business Trade Groups Carrying Corporate Campaign Against Employee Free Choice While Companies Distance Themselves

Mar 05, 2009 - New analysis of lobbying disclosures shows that the corporate lobbying effort against the Employee Free Choice Act is being waged largely by industry trade associations and front groups rather than by individual companies. Read more...

Hundreds of Workers Head to Washington Monday to Press Lawmakers, Lobbyists and CEOs on Need for Workers' Voices in Rebuilding Economy

Mar 05, 2009 - Nurses, janitors, security officers, and hundreds of other workers from across the country will head to Washington, D.C. next week to tell lawmakers, lobbyists, and corporate CEOs to stand with them and take immediate steps to create an economy that works for everyone. Read more...

Massachusetts Nursing Home Caregivers Overcome Union-Busting at Its Worst

Mar 04, 2009 - When executives at Northern Berkshire Healthcare received word that the nursing home staff at Massachusetts Sweet Brook Care Centers petitioned to join 1199SEIU in January, they wasted no time before launching an anti-organizing campaign. Their thinly veiled effort to strip caregivers of their voting rights didn't fool anyone--including the National Labor Relations Board, who issued its decision in favor of workers at Sweet Brook Nursing Home , ruling that the long term care workers will be eligible to vote in an upcoming union election. Read more...

New Report on Illegal Workplace Firings Shows Clear Need For Employee Free Choice

Mar 04, 2009 - Today, a report issued by the Center for Economic and Policy Research points to a fairly disturbing (not to mention illegal) trend during the 2000s: if you looked at all of the campaigns to earn unions, you'd find that more than one-fourth of them have been "marred by an illegal firing" of at least one worker as he or she fought for representation in the workplace. Read more...

President Obama: "We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act"

Mar 04, 2009 - President Obama demonstrated once again that he stands firmly with working families in supporting passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Here's what he said yesterday to the AFL-CIO... Read more...

Scary Movie - The Horror of the Employee Free Choice Act (Video Feature)

Mar 03, 2009 - [YouTube video] Read more...

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Backs Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 02, 2009 - Make that three Nobel laureates in economics. Joseph Stiglitz, an American economist, professor at Columbia University and Nobel laureate in economics, has added his name to the growing list of now-40 economists who endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act via a full-page ad in the Washington Post last week. Read more...

What We've Been Waiting For: A Pro-Working Family Labor Secretary

Mar 02, 2009 - During the course of the last few weeks, more than 30,000 people asked the United States Senate to support a pro-working family Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis. Thanks to all of your efforts, she was confirmed and sworn into office just a few days ago. You can check out all we've done to support Hilda Solis here. Read more...

Watch SEIU President Andy Stern on C-Span

Feb 28, 2009 - Don't miss Andy Stern this weekend on Washington Journal, C-Span's national public affairs show. Stern will discuss the American worker in the current economy, the Obama Administration, expectations of the Labor Department under new Secretary Hilda Solis, and what role labor plays in uplifting America's working families and communities. Read more...

Who Dares Mess With GOP Chairman Michael Steele?

Feb 26, 2009 - The GOP's new chairman, Michael Steele, has been making the media circuit rounds over the last few days. One of his TV tactics has been to throw red meat at the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Take a look at this FOX News interview where Steele reveals he's open to retribution for Republicans who are brave enough to choose the best interests of their constituents over obstruction: Read more...

Change to Win and AFL-CIO File Complaint Against Marcus Foundation, Center for Union Facts

Feb 26, 2009 - Huffington Post's Sam Stein and AFL-CIO's Seth Michaels are both reporting on the latest news concerning the now-infamous Bank of America-sponsored conference call against the Employee Free Choice Act. In a joint complaint to the IRS, Change to Win and the AFL-CIO are alleging that the actions that took place on that call were illegal - under the tax code governing the tax-exempt status of the organizations that participated in the call. Read more...

Andy Stern Interviews on USA Today and Huffington Post

Feb 25, 2009 - Today, interviews with SEIU President Andy Stern have been published in both USA Today and the Huffington Post. In both, Stern talks about the Employee Free Choice Act, discussing timeline and strategy for the piece of legislation. Read more...

Many, Many Economists: We Like What the Employee Free Choice Act Does

Feb 25, 2009 - Today, in a full page ad in the Washington Post, thirty-eight prominent American economists released a statement, entitled "Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is critical to rebuilding our economy and strengthening our democracy." The economists - a group that includes two Nobel laureates in economics - argue 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." Read more...

Congratulations, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis!

Feb 24, 2009 - Great news comes out of the Senate, where Hilda Solis was just confirmed as President Obama's Secretary of Labor. "For Secretary Solis this is not just another job, but the culmination of a lifetime of action serving as a voice for people who work," said SEIU President Andy Stern following today's bipartisan vote by the U.S. Senate to confirm Hilda Solis' as the next Secretary of Labor. Read more...

Anna Burger to Tim Geithner: No More TARP Funds for Businesses that Use Bailout to Lobby

Feb 24, 2009 - As reported by Elana Schor at TPMDC, the labor federation Change to Win (of which SEIU is a part of) is "taking a major step today in the effort to restrict bailed-out bank lobbying." Of note is a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner from SEIU Secretary-Treasurer and CtW Chair Anna Burger, which calls for Principal Financial Group's $2 billion TARP application to be denied due to their lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Vote Today: Write to Your Senators

Feb 24, 2009 - During our current economic crisis, it's important that we have a strong Secretary of Labor as the voice of working people. Hilda Solis will be responsible for unemployment benefits, enforcing the minimum wage, and managing job creation and training programs. Click here to send a note to your senators in support of Hilda Solis before today's vote. Read more...

Burger King Backs off Opposition to
Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 20, 2009 - Burger King Backs off Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act... Read more...

Burger King Backs off Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 20, 2009 - Under pressure from SEIU activists and allies like Brave New Films, Jobs with Justice, and the Coalition for Social Justice this week, Burger King scrambled to respond to allegations that it lobbied against the Employee Free Choice Act while paying its workers poverty wages. In a statement issued Friday, Burger King apparently backed off its opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

California Workers and Allies Rally for Easier Unionization

Feb 20, 2009 - 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. Read more...

VIDEO: My First Week in Washington DC with SEIU

Feb 20, 2009 - I've always been impressed with our nation's capitol. The huge buildings, sweeping landscapes, and grand stone staircases - it's all so big, it makes me a little disoriented and, gulp, small. But all those buildings are filled with people. And if there's anything I've learned as a nurse - people are people. We all eat and sleep and want to make the world a better place. Read more...

Bank of America Uses Bailout to Fight Economic Recovery

Feb 20, 2009 - Bank of America Uses Bailout to Fight Economic Recovery Read more...

New Report: Employee Free Choice Act Could Create A $49 Billion Stimulus Package for the American Worker

Feb 18, 2009 - In a new report for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, researchers David Madland and Karla Walter argue that a more-unionized workforce would lead towards a stronger economy for the United States. According to the report, the key to a sustainable economy is to increase the purchasing power of hard-working Americans - and one way to do that is by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Gives Workers a Fair and Democratic Chance to Form Unions

Feb 18, 2009 - The Employee Free Choice Act, the legislation supported by President Obama and large majorities of both houses of congress will not eliminate secret ballots in union representation (period). Read more...

New Report to be released on Feb 19. to Show How Union Job Growth Will Aid CA Economic Recovery

Feb 18, 2009 - As the national focus begins to shift from passage of the Economic Recovery Act to securing long-term solutions for re-building the middle class, a coalition of leading academics, religious leaders, and civil rights leaders will gather to advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give employees greater freedom to join a union. Read more...

Public Support for the Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 17, 2009 - Want to get an idea of the public support of the Employee Free Choice Act? The latest public poll showed 73% support the bill while only 21% oppose it; that's not quite as stark as the contrast on the Hill earlier this month, but Congress should get the picture anyway. Read more...

Hypocrisy Watch: Bank of America Uses Bailout to Fight Economic Recovery

Feb 13, 2009 - Watch this video about Bank of America using taxpayer money to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, then encourage Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to set lobbying restrictions on bailed out banks. Read more...

Video and Pics: Bank Bailout Hearing Action

Feb 12, 2009 - Yesterday, as bailout bank CEOs entered the Rayburn House building to testify before Congress on how they used bailout funds, they were greeted by the playful chants and clever signs of SEIU members. Check out video and photo slideshow of the demonstration here. Read more...

SEIU Members Deliver Petition Signed by 22,500 in Support of Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor

Feb 12, 2009 - Last week, SEIU President Andy Stern sent a video message out to the SEIU community via email, calling on Congress to confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor and urging people to sign on in support. Yesterday, we delivered the names of these signees to Senators Kennedy and Enzi. Read more...

Ken Lewis, What's Really In Your Company's Best Interest?

Feb 12, 2009 - Yesterday, in a congressional hearing about major banking institutions' use of TARP funds (a.k.a. the "bailout" funds approved by Congress last fall), something that can only be described as "enraging" occurred. When pressed by Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), Bank of... Read more...

President Obama Reaffirms Support for the Employee Free Choice Act as part of Economic Recovery

Feb 12, 2009 - President Obama again Wednesday affirmed his support for the Employee Free Choice Act, critical legislation that will make it easier for workers to bargain with their employers for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. This is the latest in a... Read more...

Sen. John Kerry on Employee Free Choice & Small Businesses

Feb 09, 2009 - Senator John Kerry has an op-ed published this weekend on the Employee Free Choice Act. He begins his opinion piece with a strong defense of unions and their value to the US economy, while adding in a full frontal assault on the Big Business interests that are actively trying to prevent American workers from having rights and prosperity. Read more...

Marching for Employee Free Choice Act in LA

Feb 07, 2009 - On Thursday, hundreds of workers marched 10 miles in the rain from downtown Los Angeles to the Federal Building to call on Congress to rebuild America by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. All along the route, workers highlighted some of the issues facing working men and women all across the county -- from facing foreclosure to the struggles of workers fighting to earn a living wage and join a union Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Rally on Capitol Hill

Feb 06, 2009 - Read more...

Tell the Senate:
Confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor

Feb 06, 2009 - Read more...

1.5 Million Voices Heard
Workers Rally on Hill for Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 05, 2009 - Read more...

Workers Rally for Employee Free Choice: Theo Jackson's Story

Feb 05, 2009 - Read more...

Flickr photo slideshow from Employee Free Choice petition delivery rally

Feb 04, 2009 - To see photos from the Employee Free Choice petition delivery rally, watch SEIU's Flickr slideshow here. Read more...

Contrast on the Hill: Country Club CEOs vs. Hardworking People on the Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 04, 2009 - In the halls of Congress, CEOs having their "Executive Lobby Day" are spreading lies and misinformation in order to keep wages down and perpetuate inequality. How do we know this? Because we went into one of their presentations at a CA country club and captured video of how they talk about defeating the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Thousands Rally on Capitol Hill to Turn Up the Heat on Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 04, 2009 - Thousands of union members and allies gathered on Capitol Hill today for a rally to kick off the delivery of 1.5 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act to members of Congress, where union members gave first-hand testimony about their efforts to form a union. Read more...

Corporate America's Chicken Little Strategy

Feb 04, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) have adapted a Chicken Little strategy. When confronted with legislation to improve American workers' lives, the Chamber and NAM invariably threaten economic ruin and rampant government control. Read more...

Conspiracy at the Country Club: CEOs Plot to Defeat the Employee Free Choice Act

Feb 03, 2009 - Read more...

Video: Tellers Make Change at Bank of America

Feb 03, 2009 - Last week, as reported on our blog, , concerned citizens across the country participated in events where they talked directly to employees and Bank of America customers on what's happening with their company and why their CEO needs to be fired. We've put together a video from some of these events. Read more...

Vice President Biden on Employee Free Choice: "This Year"

Feb 02, 2009 - Last week, in a CNBC interview with John Harwood, Vice President Joe Biden talked about the timeline for passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

For the Truth on Arbitration, Look at Companies' Actions - Not Words

Jan 30, 2009 - The corporations and their front groups that oppose the Employee Free Choice Act say that the use of arbitration to help workers and companies reach agreements will hurt business and put federal bureaucrats in charge. That's what they say...Now here's what they do: in fact, companies use arbitration all the time to resolve disputes because they like that it's fast, fair, and inexpensive. Read more...

MSNBC Reports on Bank of America's Anti-Worker Conference Call

Jan 30, 2009 - Reaction to Sam Stein's recent Huffington Post article on Bank of America's anti-Employee Free Choice conference call has been sweeping. Wednesday night, on MSNBC show 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., host David Shuster reported on the call during his "Hypocrisy Watch" segment. Airing some of the tape from the call, Shuster makes a special comment. Read more...

In 2008, More Than 88,000 Workers United in SEIU

Jan 29, 2009 - The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual union membership report yesterday that showed an increase in union membership nationwide for 2008 -- the largest growth rate on record since 1983. Growth in SEIU -- 88,926 members -- accounted for nearly 21 percent of the national growth. Read more...

Tellers Make Change: Go to Bank of America Today at Noon

Jan 29, 2009 - Today, we're asking you to go to a Bank of America location to talk directly with employees about what's happening with their company - and why their CEO should be fired. Read more...

Statement of SEIU President Andy Stern Regarding Growth in Union Membership in 2008

Jan 28, 2009 - The Bureau of Labor Statistics annual union membership report shows that the share of workers belonging to a union rose in 2008. Growth in SEIU--88,926 members--accounted for nearly 21 percent of the national growth. Read more...

Union Women, Labor Leaders & Online Activists Advocate for Solis Confirmation

Jan 28, 2009 - Stop delaying confirmation of Rep. Solis as secretary of labor: As Obama said in his inaugural address, "let's put away childish things" and get on with the workings of government. Read more...

Audio Leak: Bank of America Hosts Anti-Employee Free Choice Conference Call

Jan 27, 2009 - Sam Stein, the political reporter for the Huffington Post, just published a vital article on corporate America's fight against the Employee Free Choice Act. Entitled "Bailout Recipients Hosted Call to Defeat Key Labor Bill," Stein writes about a conference call - hosted by Bank of America - and audio of the event that he's managed to obtain. Read more...

Time to Go: Bank of America must fire CEO Ken Lewis (Banner)

Jan 27, 2009 - Read more...

Time to Go: Bank of America must fire CEO Ken Lewis

Jan 27, 2009 - Over the last few months, it's become abundantly clear that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis just doesn't get it. The era of greed and irresponsibility is over. Bank of America tellers make about $24,000 a year. That's less than what the CEO of a company bought by Bank of America paid for his curtains during the $1.2 million redecoration of his personal office. Enough is enough. Today, we're calling on Bank of America to fire CEO Ken Lewis. Read more...

Former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich on the Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 26, 2009 - In an editorial for the Los Angeles Times today, former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich gives his advice on how we can reverse this deepening recession and give middle class Americans the greatest opportunity for a better life. Read more...

Economist Paul Krugman's Open Letter to President Obama

Jan 24, 2009 - Paul Krugman, a Nobel-prize laureate in Economics, professor at Princeton University, and a columnist for the New York Times has published an extraordinary piece in the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine. In it, he writes an open letter to President Obama, giving his advice on some steps that he'd advise the new president to take in order to get our economy back on track. Read more...

President Obama on America's Workers in the Washington Post

Jan 21, 2009 - Just prior to taking office, President Barack Obama gave an in-depth interview with the editorial board of the Washington Post, in which he reiterated his strong support for America's workers and the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Momentum for the Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 16, 2009 - Claims by corporate interest groups that the Employee Free Choice Act is losing support and won't be voted on simply ignore the facts. President Obama and Congress are committed to rebuilding America's middle class through quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

New TV Ads Renew Call to Action to Make Our Economy Work for Everyone

Jan 15, 2009 - 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. Read more...

Video & Campaign Launch: "Tell Bank of America: Help Your Workers or Give Back the Bailout"

Jan 15, 2009 - When taxpayers gave Bank of America a $25 billion bailout, the country's largest bank was supposed to use the funds to help jumpstart the economy. Rather than using the loan to keep money flowing through the financial system to ensure that the bank continues lending to consumers, as was the original intent, Bank of America has instead misspent the money on foreign investments, executive salaries, and corporate jets. Read more...

CEOs: We'll take our ball and ship it overseas

Jan 15, 2009 - Business leaders and CEOs are developing a new strategy to combat the Employee Free Choice Act: threaten to take jobs overseas and divest from America. Failed Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney said as much this morning: It is an idea... Read more...

CBS News: Where Did The Bailout Billions Really Go?

Jan 15, 2009 - In October, the federal government gave Bank of America and Merrill Lynch a combined $25 billion in bailout funds. According to the Wall Street Journal, the move was designed "to keep money flowing through the financial system, ensuring that banks continue lending to companies, consumers and each other." Unfortunately for the taxpayers footing the bill, Bank of America appears to have had another agenda. Read more...

Obama Transition Team Member David Bonior: "Get a Hold of Inequality" with the Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 14, 2009 - On this weekend's edition of Meet the Press, former Rep. David Bonior, a member of President-elect Barack Obama's economic transition team, talked about ways the next Administration can help get the economy back on track. One proposal sorted by President-elect Obama and 60 percent of the public is the Employee Free Choice Act, which will help employees bridge the gap of wage inequality in the country today. Read more...

What's in a name? The Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 13, 2009 - Under the Employee Free Choice Act, workers' freedom to choose to form a union would be restored. Read more...

The Economic Argument for the Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 13, 2009 - As the new administration and Congress works to lift the U.S. economy out of the economic crisis, we've been working on some analyses on how our country has recovered economically since the 1940's. Economic success occurs when rising wages spur consumer spending, and new research makes a solid case as to why the Employee Free Choice Act would be a "stimulus" that gets our economy back on track. Read more...

Member Voices: "Giving workers a hand on the wheel"

Jan 13, 2009 - Here's a great op-ed from an SEIU nurse about the free and fair election she and her coworkers had when they formed a union at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas thirteen years ago....and why their election process experience was a "special exception to a broken rule." Read more...

Media Reports: Hilda Solis Headed Towards Confirmation, Has Bipartisan Support

Jan 12, 2009 - Last Friday, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Rep. Hilda Solis, appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to confirm her appointment. We've compiled a short round-up of the media coverage surrounding Secretary-designate Solis' confirmation hearings. From Washington-insider publications like the National Journal, to local papers like the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the consensus is clear: Hilda Solis appears to be headed towards confirmation, and her eagerness to begin working on behalf of all the working people in our great nation has earned her bipartisan support. Read more...

Yet Another Corporate Front Group: "Save Our Secret Ballots"

Jan 12, 2009 - Meet the new Right-to-Work-for-less laws: state ballot initiatives to mandate "secret ballot" elections for union votes, trying to preempt the Employee Free Choice Act. On December 30, 2008, a new coalition calling itself the "Save Our Secret Ballot" (SOSB) coalition emerged onto the scene, announcing an under-the-radar state-level campaign to amend the state constitutions of Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada and Utah to require a secret-ballot election for union representation. Read more...

Facts Fact Roundup: Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 09, 2009 - We're already hearing - and seeing - good things from Congress about their priorities for 2009. Read more...

Watch Secretary of Labor-designee Hilda Solis Live

Jan 09, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Rep. Hilda Solis, will appear before a Senate committee this morning to confirm her appointment. We'll be livestreaming her confirmation hearing here on SEIU.org. You can watch it here starting at 9:30am EST. Read more...

Change That Works: Video Chat with Andy Stern

Jan 08, 2009 - This week, SEIU is launching our Change That Works campaign. This campaign will be a massive, grassroots movement to turn America's unprecedented hope into unparalleled progress. Read more...

The Only Way to Mass Prosperity

Jan 07, 2009 - "There is no historic precedent for mass prosperity absent mass collective bargaining. The model cannot be constructed," writes Harold Meyerson, making the case Employee Free Choice in a Washington Post op-ed today. Read more...

New York Times: Employee Free Choice Act Is "Vital"

Jan 06, 2009 - The New York Times hit the nail on the head when it called for swift passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. In thoughtful analysis of workers' role in an economic recovery, The Times wrote "The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed." Read more...

SEIU to Unveil Major National Campaign to Bring Economic Solutions to Main Street

Jan 05, 2009 - Two million-member labor union to involve millions of Americans in an intensive state-by-state campaign to help President-Elect Obama enact Change That Works. Read more...

The Employee Free Choice Act: What's At Stake

Jan 05, 2009 - 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. Read more...

New SEIU Ads Put Focus on Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 05, 2009 - 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 Read more...

New Ads for the Employee Free Choice Act

Jan 05, 2009 - Read more...

McScrooged Actions: Flickr Photo Slideshow & Video Clips

Dec 30, 2008 - SEIU members and supporters went to almost 100 McDonald's locations around the country on December 18 to speak directly with employees about free choice. We wanted to share some photos and video with you all from McDonald's visits that took place in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit and Washington, DC. Read more...

Wal-Mart Gets a Makeover So It Can Fight Economic Recovery

Dec 29, 2008 - '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? Not quite. Read more...

NY Times Endorses Employee Free Choice: "The Labor Agenda"

Dec 29, 2008 - There's a great editorial today from the New York Times on unions and the Obama administration's commitment to labor - giving basically a full-throated endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act and why it is such an important part of an economic recovery program. Read more...

Sen. Ben Nelson: Anti-Free Choice Ads are "Smear tactics that insult me and my fellow Nebraskans"

Dec 22, 2008 - SEIU calls on "Americans for Job Security" to engage in an honest conversation with Nebraskans about their positions rather than trying to mislead Nebraskans. Read more...

Andy Stern on Bloggingheads.tv: The Future of Labor

Dec 22, 2008 - Andy Stern appeared on Blogging Heads TV today to talk about why we need the Employee Free Choice Act and stimulating our economy. Watch clips from the appearance below or the entire thing over at Blogging Heads TV. Read more...

Victory at McDonald's

Dec 19, 2008 - Yesterday SEIU members and supporters went to almost 100 McDonald's locations around the country to speak directly with employees about free choice. And guess what: we won! McDonald's issued a statement backing down from their previous opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act because of your work...Please share with us your thoughts and comments on how your "McScrooged" action went yesterday, and upload photos and video. Read more...

A New Year's Resolution for America's Working Families: Creating An Economy that Works for Everyone

Dec 19, 2008 - Big Business is working overtime ... not to help get our troubled economy get back on track, but to prevent American workers from freely being able to join unions and bargain for better wages, health benefits and job security. And to those wondering about big business' alleged concerns about preserving workers' right to a secret ballot, rest easy: The Employee Free Choice Act does NOT eliminate the right to a secret ballot election. Read more...

SEIU Takes Action at McDonald's

Dec 18, 2008 - Read more...

How did your McScrooged action go today at McDonalds?

Dec 18, 2008 - We hope your action at McDonald's today went well! Please tell us any comments on how it went and upload photos and video here as well. Read more...

Take Action Now: McDonald's Today at Noon

Dec 18, 2008 - Last week we told you that McDonald's wasn't lovin' free choice at work. Several thousand of you stood up and told the company what you think about their efforts to stop their employees' free choice. Read more...

Corporate Front Group Americans for Job Security Airs Misleading Ad on Employee Free Choice

Dec 16, 2008 - The latest ad from Americans for Job Security, a corporate front group that has already spent millions to deny workers a voice on the job, attempts to mislead the public about the Employee Free Choice Act and the 2 million members of SEIU. Read more...

Washington Hispanic Publishes Op-Ed by SEIU Local 32BJ Director: "Giving Workers the Choice on Unions"

Dec 15, 2008 - "Although most workers would like to join a union, very few ever get the chance to vote. In fact, employers have been stifling the efforts of workers to lawfully organize a union through elections," writes Jaime Contreras, Director of the Capital Area of 32BJ. "The Employee Free Choice Act restores a fair and even balance between workers and their employers. The bill also creates a process for resolving contract disputes and cracks down on companies that punish workers for exercising their rights." Read the full op-ed. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: Spotlight on Mark McKinnon

Dec 15, 2008 - On December 9th, the Washington Post quoted Mark McKinnon on the Employee Free Choice Act. What the Post failed to mention is that McKinnon is an advisor and spokesman for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI), a big business front group formed months ago solely to fight the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Workers at Smithfield Meatpacking Plant Vote for Union

Dec 15, 2008 - In an incredible piece of news that's been a long time coming, workers at Smithfield Tar Heel in North Carolina, the world's largest meatpacking plant, voted for union representation yesterday with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: Restoring the Middle Class

Dec 12, 2008 - Did you hear about the corporate CEOs who just agreed that paying themselves 344 times more than their workers was hurting our economy by undermining consumer spending power - and have decided to reduce their pay and offer workers a raise and better benefits? Read more...

Anna Burger: The Economic Recovery Program Our Nation Needs

Dec 12, 2008 - Anna Burger has a piece in the Huffington Post today, making the point that the Employee Free Choice Act is key to any economic recovery program: Read more...

Video: Fact Check on Anti-Free Choice Advertisement

Dec 10, 2008 - "There have been many attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act by corporate-funded front-groups who are trying to spread myths and misrepresentations to confuse people," says SEIU staffer Ari Yampulsky. See the video fact check that addresses a recent anti-free choice advertisement. Read more...

McDonald's isn't lovin' free choice for its employees

Dec 10, 2008 - Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: The Facts on the Secret Ballot

Dec 10, 2008 - Hardly. Most CEOs don't want to give workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether to join together for a voice at work. It's not surprising, especially when you consider that CEOs are now paying themselves an average of 344 times more than workers. Read more...

SEIU Members to Hold March, Rally Supporting the Freedom to Join Unions and Emphasizing the Need to Fix the Broken Health Care System

Dec 10, 2008 - This Thursday, 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. Read more...

Join our Employee Free Choice Facebook Cause

Dec 09, 2008 - We're stepping up on social networking efforts today, with our first Facebook Cause. It's to engage you in the effort to fight for the freedom to choose a union by passing the Employee Free Choice Act -- so that our economy can work for everyone. Read more...

Barack Obama on the Employee Free Choice Act

Dec 09, 2008 - [youtube video] Read more...

Tell McDonald's: Don't Oppose the Employee Free Choice Act

Dec 09, 2008 - Over the weekend news broke that the fast food giant is organizing its store owners to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. McDonald's has reportedly even formed an "internal response team...to actively participate in the opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act." Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: All About Majority Sign-up

Dec 08, 2008 - The corporate misinformation campaign is already running strong--spreading lies and distortions about the Employee Free Choice Act. One blatant mischaracterization suggests that this common sense proposal is somehow a "radical" change to federal labor law. Read more...

"Let's 'Share the Wealth'" - Wall Street Journal weekend interview with Andy Stern

Dec 08, 2008 - America's most powerful union boss says Europe offers a good economic model...Read the Wall Street Journal's December 6 weekend interview with SEIU President Andy Stern. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: It's the Economy

Dec 05, 2008 - On Wednesday, December 3rd, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm released a statement calling for the quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Enemies of Change: Refuting Arguments against the Employee Free Choice Act (Pt. 1)

Dec 05, 2008 - You and I know that the same people and corporations who have destroyed our economy, shipped jobs overseas and created the largest gap in pay between workers and CEOs oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Wal-Mart's Failure to Protect Its Workers: An Unfortunate Symbol

Dec 04, 2008 - Jdimytai Damour, a temporary Wal-Mart worker, became a symbol to millions of low-wage workers last Friday when he died a needless death because Wal-Mart failed to take the necessary precautions to protect him. He became a symbol of those workers quietly yielding to unsafe working conditions because they have no voice. Read more...

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm Reaffirms Commitment to Employee Free Choice Act

Dec 04, 2008 - "Yesterday, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm reaffirmed her commitment to protecting workers' free choice for a voice at work by calling for quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Obama Restates Employee Free Choice Act Support

Dec 03, 2008 - Barack Obama's transition team reiterated the president-elect's strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act late yesterday, the Huffington Post reports. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Fast Facts Update

Dec 03, 2008 - In the current economic climate, the American public is eager to see Congress take action to strengthen the middle class and restore our nation's economy. To help working families improve their standard of living and get our economy back on track, Congress should pass federal legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Gallup: Americans Remain Broadly in Support of Labor Unions

Dec 03, 2008 - The question "Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?" was first asked in 1936, a year after Congress passed the Wagner Act establishing the right of most private sector employees to join unions, to bargain collectively with their employers, and to strike. Seven decades later, Americans have maintained a generally favorable view of unions, with the most recent update from Gallup showing a 59 percent of those surveyed back unions, while only 29 percent disapprove of them. Read more...

For Women, Joining a Union is like Going to College

Dec 02, 2008 - Some great news for working women came out today. A new study shows that joining a union raises a woman's wages and benefits on par with having a college education. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act News: "Re-establish the Middle Class" - November 21, 2008

Nov 21, 2008 - SEIU Local 32BJ leader Jaime Contreras makes the case for why America's economy needs the Employee Free Choice Act: In this economic crisis caused by corporate greed, working Americans are in urgent need of the immediate relief that union wages... Read more...

New Television Ad Highlights Need for Employee Free Choice Act

Nov 20, 2008 - As the nation's current economic crisis continues and wages stagnate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class. A new nationwide television ad campaign serves as a reminder that we need the Employee Free Choice Act to level the playing field for America's workers by giving them a fair and direct path to form unions. Read more...

Wal-Mart Watch to Join Efforts to Give Workers a Voice on the Job

Nov 19, 2008 - Wal-Mart Watch, a leading critic of the nation's largest employer and architect of an independent public education campaign to expose the truth about Wal-Mart's business practices, announced today that it is merging its operations into the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to join the effort to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that Wal-Mart's employees and other workers around the country will have the choice to form a union to advocate for better wages and benefits. Read more...

Home Depot Founder to CEOs: You "Should Be Shot"

Nov 19, 2008 - In the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill in Congress that would give workers the free choice to form unions, we've seen some crazy hyperbole from greedy CEOs and their front groups who oppose free choice for workers. Home Depot founder and ex-CEO Bernie Marcus, for example... Read more...

Anna Burger on Meet the Bloggers

Nov 14, 2008 - Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger was on Meet the Bloggers today, talking about the Employee Free Choice Act. Watch it now: Read more...

Why Employees Need Free Choice to Join Unions: Let's Cut to the Chase

Nov 14, 2008 - The Saturday, Nov. 8th edition of The New York Times had a lengthy piece by Steven Greenhouse about the growing chorus for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would restore free choice for people who want to join a union. Towards the end of the article is a simple sentence that bears further examination, because it gets to the heart of why we need Employee Free Choice... Read more...

Anna Burger to Appear on Meet the Bloggers

Nov 14, 2008 - Today on Meet the Bloggers watch Anna Burger, SEIU secretary-treasurer and Change to Win chair, discuss how the Employee Free Choice Act can revitalize our nation's middle class and why it's so important to give workers the right to form unions in the workplace. Read more...

Promo: Impact of Employee Free Choice

Nov 12, 2008 - Impact of Employee Free Choice Read more...

Join Barack Obama on Employee Free Choice

Nov 12, 2008 - Employee Free Choice Read more...

Join Barack Obama and Support the Employee Free Choice Act

Nov 10, 2008 - Join Barack Obama and Support the Employee Free Choice Act Read more...

Impact of Employee Free Choice Act: More Health Insurance, Pension Benefits Possible

Oct 21, 2008 - When Congress passes the Employee Free Choice Act to allow people to freely join unions, more than 3.5 million people could receive health insurance and 2.7 million people could receive pension benefits, according to academic studies.... Read more...

One Million for Employee Free Choice

Oct 21, 2008 - Both Barack Obama and a pro-middle class majority in Congress support the Employee Free Choice Act, which will restore the freedom of choice to join unions and strengthen the middle class. With your help, we can make the American Dream a reality for working people. Please join our campaign for One Million People to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Confused Sarah Palin Contradicts John McCain on Unions

Oct 02, 2008 - Sarah Palin spoke with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier this week and - surprise, surprise - completely contradicted John McCain's virulent opposition to unions and the Employeee Free Choice Act. Palin also credited "good union jobs" for why her family had health insurance in otherwise tough times. It's too bad Palin has done nothing to actually represent union interests. Read more...

$17,000 an Hour for CEO of Biggest Ever Bankruptcy

Sep 25, 2008 - One of the reasons SEIU is organizing and mobilizing support for the Employee Free Choice Act is to restore balance in the workplace. While the imbalance of rights at work is a serious issue of its own, there's an astounding difference in compensation between workers and CEOs. Let's look at CEO pay: while the minimum wage for workers is just $6.55 an hour, the average pay of a CEO is $6,153 an hour. Read more...

Watch Andy Stern on Meet the Bloggers

Sep 25, 2008 - Earlier this month SEIU President Andy Stern appeared on the weekly online talk show Meet the Bloggers to discuss the Employee Free Choice Act. Watch the episode featuring Stern now: Read more...

Be One in a Million for the Employee Free Choice Act

Sep 25, 2008 - A robust middle class. Economic growth and shared prosperity. The American Dream. None are possible unless workers have the free choice to bargain for a better life--in their workplaces and in our nation. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act

Sep 25, 2008 - [youtube video] Read more...

SEIU Members Launch "Take Back Labor Day Caravan" in St. Louis

Aug 26, 2008 - On August 29, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will hold a press conference in St. Louis to launch its "Take Back Labor Day" caravan that will tour the Midwest to bring the message that America needs a new vision for the 21st Century that honors hard work, respects the freedom of workers to unite on the job and rebuilds the American Middle Class. Read more...

This Time Wal-Mart May Have Crossed the Line

Aug 01, 2008 - Today a Wall Street Journal article reports that Wal-Mart is holding mandatory meetings with supervisors and managers to warn them that if Senator Obama wins the presidential election, Democrats will pass the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize in Wal-Mart stores. Read more...

Bush NLRB Deals Ugly Blow to Workers and Employers

Oct 04, 2007 - Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement regarding the Bush NLRB's Dana Corp. decision: Read more...