The formation of American unions was a boon to this nation. Not only were they a boon to the workers of this nation by their work instituting things we now take for granted (the 8-hour day, weekends, basic health and safety standards), but the effect their work had on spreading the prosperity around the American people laid the foundation for decades of unprecedented prosperity.

We all know that unions have been under siege. There are many reasons given for that (globalization, changing employment patterns, etc), and many of them do have an effect. However, the rules are stacked against unions. It can be extraordinarily difficult to hold free and fair elections when the question of whether or not to form a union is concerned. Workplace intimidation is a real phenomenon, and enforcement of the regulations that are supposed to make things like that illegal can be lax with an administration like the one currently in the White House. Even in the best of times, it’s a very tricky thing to create a fair election. <!-more-> For example, even though the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act of 1935) allows employers to recognize a union when presented with signatures from a majority of its employees, many employers choose instead to call for secret elections. Before the election, employers can hire anti-union consultants, conduct an unlimited number of employee meetings, and bar labor representatives from the workplace. Too often, employers also use illegal yet hard-to-prove tactics to pressure employees to change their vote including threatening disciplinary action or conversely promising wage increases and benefit to individual employees in order to change their vote. Even when employers are found to have violated the NLRA, its penalties are so insignificant that is it often more worthwhile for an employee to fire union organizers and intimate workers.

In 2005 alone, the National Labor Relations Board reported that 31,358 workers were disciplined or fired for union activity.

John Kerry announced today his strong support for legislation designed to correct this situation. The Employee Free Choice Act will require employers to recognize a union when they are presented with the signatures of a majority of the workers of the union. Again, from a majority of the workers. This is about recognizing the will of the majority of employees before the standard tactics of intimidation and misinformation are employed to try to sway the outcome of elections. It’s reinstating the respect for a clean and fair process in the forming of collective bargaining units.

The Congressional Research Service has reported that workers have a greater success in forming unions with automatic card check recognition than with secret ballot. And history has shown that workers with unions are better off than workers without the rights to collective bargaining.

Here is the full text of the press release from the Senator on this:

Washington D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) pushed for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which will remove barriers for workers trying to organize. The legislation will mandate that employers recognize a majority vote by workers who want to form a union. Senator Kerry is an original co-sponsor of this legislation.

“The right of American workers to organize has been at the foundation of every march forward for working people in the history of our country,” Senator Kerry said. “The current law provides too many opportunities for employers to impose disincentives, hire anti-union consultants, or simply refuse to bargain when they don’t like the outcome of a vote. Union membership increases wages and improves benefits and makes sure that our workers and their families are treated fairly. After seven years of the White House giving tax away the store to powerful interests at the expense of working Americans, it’s long past time for Washington and our Democratic majority to uphold the rights, and listen to the voices of working Americans.”

In 2005, the National Labor Relations Board reported that 31,358 workers were disciplined or fired for union activity. The current law, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), serves as a foundation for modern labor rights, but includes a number of loop holes for employers. For one, the law does not adequately protect workers from employers that call for secret elections and then use coercion to pressure their workers from casting a pro-union vote. Even when employers are found to have violated the NLRA, its penalties are so insignificant that is it often more worthwhile for an employee to fire union organizers and intimate workers.

The Employee Free Choice Act fixes this problem by requiring the National Labor Relations Board, and by extension, employers, to recognize a union when a majority of employees have signed their names to authorization cards and present them to the Board. The bill also includes, for the first time, substantial fines for employers that engage in union busting activities, and requires binding arbitration if an employer and a newly formed union cannot agree to an initial contract.

Studies show unionized workers are paid 28 percent more than non-union workers, 92 percent of unionized workers have some health care coverage, and 3 out of 4 have defined benefit retirement plans—compared to 1 in 6 non-union members.