AFL-CIO President talks jobs, restoring the middle class, and health care
In a speech delivered to the National Press Club on Monday, National AFL-CIO President, Rich Trumka, said because of the failed policies of the past three decades, the United States is “a nation with profound, unaddressed structural economic problems on a long-term, downward [...]

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“Improving Employee Rights at Work, Improving Employee Livelihood”
The North Carolina Justice Center has released a special federal policy update on the Employee Free Choice Act (opens PDF). The report, by Stephen Jackson of the NC Budget and Tax Center, concludes the legislation is reform North Carolina workers need:
“Despite the Piedmont crescent being home to high [...]

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“A level playing field is as important in the workplace as it is in baseball.”
The Major League Baseball Players Association, AFL-CIO, is marking the beginning of the World Series with print ads in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads will run in today’s edition of Capitol Hill newspapers Roll Call, The [...]

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Both reforms needed to correct basic unfairness
I interviewed Teddy McNeal during our 52nd annual convention on labor’s big legislative priorities, the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform. “I support the Employee Free Choice Act because workers need a way of being able to say ‘Yes, I want a union,’ without fear of intimidation,” [...]

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What’s the correlation?
There is a strong relationship between our fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and the push for health care reform. Bob Riggins, former president of UAW local 5285, understands the importance of passing both bills.

“The Employee Free Choice Act is important because employees don’t have anybody who speaks for them. Employers [...]

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Giving workers the ability to empower themselves
At last week’s 52nd Annual Convention I had the opportunity to interview some of the delegates on the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill unfortunately overshadowed by the health care debate, but nonetheless a critical priority for labor. Here’s what some of them said:
“I support the Employee Free Choice [...]

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Minimum Wage, Workers’ Comp, Overtime laws violated routinely
This may come as little surprise to our readers, members, and activists in the labor movement. A new study, “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers,” reveals that employers regularly violate wage and hour laws for their low-wage employees. Workers who can least afford it are the most likely to report [...]

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Unions are absolutely pro-American
Even with health care at the forefront of debate, as union members we can’t afford to forget about the Employee Free Choice Act. Working men and women are still fired and intimidated every day for exercising their right to form a union, and it is essential that labor reform go hand in [...]

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VIDEO: WRAL in Raleigh asks what compromise would mean
Cullen Browder with Raleigh CBS affiliate WRAL has been reporting on the debate in Congress and in North Carolina about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
The legislation is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate, and there has been talk in the press about a potential compromise bill [...]

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On Wednesday, over 60 members of SEANC, HCAN, Acorn, NC Justice Center, AFL-CIO and various community groups came out to the Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters in Chapel Hill to protest the insurance monger’s war against health care reform. The protesters held up signs proclaiming ‘People Before Profits’ and waved at honking cars.

The event featured [...]

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We are now one vote closer to breaking filibuster
The Employee Free Choice Act has a new champion in the United States Senate – Al Franken, junior senator from the state of Minnesota. After his swearing in, Franken attended a reception at the AFL-CIO headquarters to announce his support:
“As of about a half hour ago, I [...]

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HCAN members and supporters of health care reform took a bus up to Washington D.C. to meet with Senator Hagan last week. The Senator joked that she felt right at home seeing so many North Carolinian faces in D.C. During her short speech, she addressed the issue of health care reform.
“I think that what [...]

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“AFGE Members are Working for EFCA”
Last week J. David Cox, National Secretary-Treasurer of AFGE, attended the NC AFL-CIO Executive Board meeting. He spoke to me about the Employee Free Choice Act and its significance for AFGE employees.
“The Employee Free Choice Act creates a level playing field for employees. It gives them the right to decide [...]

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Working people are backbone of America
Larry Murray is the Staff Representative for USW in District 9, serving North and South Carolina locals. He is an active participant in the campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and to reverse myths about union members.
“The Employee Free Choice Act is vitally important because on top of [...]

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Something needs to be done
Dwaine Atkinson is a retired UAW member and resident of North Carolina for the past 20 years. He is a strong supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act and workers’ right to bargain collectively.
“The Employee Free Choice Act is necessary because the table is tilted too far towards the employer,” Dwaine [...]

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Free Choice and health care are linked
Linda Suggs, AFT, is passionate about issues affecting American workers, particularly health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act. She believes both are essential to rebuilding the middle class, and should be passed this year.
“Twenty million Americans are without health insurance, often because they lost their jobs,” [...]

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Enough is enough
Jim Moore of AFSCME, is retiree coordinator in North Carolina. At a recent conference for the Alliance of Retired Americans, Jim spoke to us about the Employee Free Choice Act and what it means for workers.
“The Employee Free Choice Act is important because in many companies, management uses awful tactics against their [...]

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EFCA: How will it Affect Public Employees?
Jon Bray is one of several employees of AFSCME hired to mobilize membership around the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and health care reform. Jon’s many tasks include canvassing to educate members on EFCA and attending local meetings to encourage members to become involved.

In his interview, Jon discussed [...]

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This motion picture approved for all audiences
They are 47 artists, including Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony award winners and nominees. They are sitcom stars, character actors, musicians, comedians, and Broadway performers. They are all union members, working with union writers and an all union crew, and they all support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Artists [...]

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“EFCA is about Social Justice”
Miriam Thompson, an outspoken, retired UAW member, is also a member of the Alliance of Retired Americans and the labor chair of the local NAACP chapter in Chapel Hill. Miriam is a vocal advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that she believes will restore democracy in the American [...]

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Investors speak out for Employee Free Choice Act
Right now is the right time for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act says a coalition of investors who manage almost $400 billion in assets in a letter to the bill’s primary sponsors.
The support of these 26 leaders from the investment community is a welcome [...]

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A ‘total absence of any employee or union abuse’ for Illinois workers
The University of Illinois published results of a study authored by Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment policy, on Illinois’ Majority Interest Petition (MIP) process, which grants public employees in that state the option to form a union using majority sign-up. [...]

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Jason Rosin, IATSE Business Agent and President of the Southeastern North Carolina CLC, spoke on the Employee Free Choice Act and its importance to North Carolinians.

“The Employee Free Choice Act answers the fundamental questions, ‘Whose choice is it to form a union and how you form a union?’ The answer is, ‘It should be [...]

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‘Why We Need Unions’ on Saturday, 5/9
The Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), one of several community groups to rally support for Moncure workers during their 8-month strike, is hosting a teach-in entitled “Corporate Rule, Bailouts & Greed: Why We Need Unions” in Chapel Hill on Saturday, May 9.
The teach-in will feature notable [...]

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VoteVets.org mobilizes for freedom to organize
Saying the freedom to organize and form unions is one of many American values for which veterans have fought and died, the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and VoteVets.org are teaming up to fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
“The freedom to organize is an American value, one of [...]

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MaryBe McMillan was the keynote speaker for the APRI Banquet fundraiser. At the event she gave a stirring speech on the Employee Free Choice Act and collective bargaining rights for public employees, and was honored with an award for her service.

In her speech on the Employee Free Choice Act, MaryBe dismantled the falsehoods perpetrated by [...]

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In Raleigh, the AFL-CIO, ACORN, AFSCME, HCAN and the NC Justice Center banded together to put on an event to commemorate Obama’s 100th day in office. Since taking the oath on January 19th, Obama has passed progressive policy on women’s pay, health coverage for children, and job creation. He promises to continue the fight for [...]

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Jonathan Bray, an AFSCME organizer, visited Guilford College last weekend to talk to the College Democrats about the Employee Free Choice Act and its relevance to students.
“Unions aren’t just for factory workers anymore,” explained Jon. “People who graduate from college are entering white collar jobs as dentists and psychologists are forming unions too.”

Jon explained [...]

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Charlotte CLC Speaks Out on Employee Free Choice Act
In a show of solidarity, the Southern Piedmont CLC of Charlotte turned out large numbers last week at the HOPE Coalition meeting. After the meeting, I was able to interview the whole labor council on the Employee Free Choice Act and individual reasons for supporting it.

[...]

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Hypocrisy of EFCA opponents knows no limits
The Employee Free Choice Act will do three very important things:

Take away the employer’s power to decide how workers choose union representation, giving the choice to employees alone
Provide for mediation on first contract disputes after 90 days and binding arbitration if either side fails to negotiate after 120 days
Increase [...]

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Media Fund effort depends on viewers like you
Greed. Fabric of America. The Real Secret. Hope & Change. We Don’t Ask. The Boardroom. See Saw.
These are the national television spots made possible by contributions to the AFL-CIO Media Fund from local and national unions, state federations like ours, central labor councils, and thousands of individual union [...]

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During the Congressional Recess, community and union members held a meeting with Representative Bob Etheridge to talk about the Employee Free Choice Act and other important issues to working people. The group represented a diversity of voices, including the NAACP, the Solidarity Committee, APRI, the Chatham County Commissioner, Alliance of Retired Americans, North Carolina Justice [...]

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Unions needed wherever employees are mistreated
EI met up with Ben Lee, Chairman Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, when he got off work last Thursday. Even though Ben’s workplace will not be affected by the Employee Free Choice Act because he works with the railroads, he still believes in the importance of this bill for [...]

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“The Employee Free Choice Act will Benefit North Carolina’s Economy”
Many opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act cite the floundering economy as the main reason not to allow more workers to unionize. Particularly in a low union density state like North Carolina, business interests argue that the Act would destroy our competitive advantage. To get [...]

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On Monday, workers from APWU and UFCW turned out for an Employee Free Choice Act event in downtown Fayetteville. They passed out slices of apple pie to people walking by, as well as literature on the Employee Free Choice Act. The purpose of the event was to educate the public about the Employee Free Choice [...]

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“Unions Didn’t Intimidate Me”
Jeanette Perry, USW Local 9465, has worked for Pilkington Glass for 14 years. When she first began working there, the plant was not unionized, and she knew little about unions. Her first exposure to unions occurred when the SteelWorkers tried to organize her plant, and management forced her and her co-workers to [...]

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Employee Free Choice Act, Public Employee Bargaining up for discussion
MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer for the NC State AFL-CIO, took part in an interview with Charlotte public radio station WFAE 90.7FM for a story about the Employee Free Choice Act which aired on Monday, March 30.
“There’s only one secret that the Chamber of Commerce and the CEO’s [...]

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“25 Years to Get a Union”
There is something wrong with the world when workers have to spend 25 years fighting for a voice on the job. But that is exactly what the employees at Pilkington Glass in Laurinburg had to do.
Howard Hall has melted glass at Pilkington for 28 years, and was a major player [...]

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“Employers Hold the Power”
Mike Gravinese, AFGE Local 3609 member and President of the Triangle Labor Council, is currently working with the North Carolina AFL-CIO on the Employee Free Choice Act. His main duties consist of getting letters and phone calls out to elected officials to demonstrate community and union support for the bill.
“The Employee Free [...]

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“Tell the Truth about Employee Free Choice”
Melvin Montford knows a lot about fighting for decent treatment at the workplace. He and co-workers at the Moncure Plywood plant have been on strike since July, protesting unfair working conditions and pay. With such a background in worker’s rights, Melvin is the perfect candidate to tell the truth [...]

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