Newest U.S. Senator Al Franken Co-sponsors EFCA

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 became a cosponsor of my first piece of legislation in the Senate, the Employee Free Choice Act."

Franken cited his membership in four different unions - AFTRA, SAG, WGAE and DGA - as what gave him and his family the chance to live the life every working family deserves.

Because of my membership in those unions, Franni and I had health care during the campaign. Because of my membership in those unions, we have a pension.
We need to level the playing field. Unions built the middle class in this country, but we've seen the playing field become a steep hill. We've seen a great risk shift in this country.

Franken was declared the winner of the hotly contested 2008 election after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled he had won after a mandatory recount of the ballots. The strong effort put forth by union members and our allies in Working America made the difference, said AFL-CIO Executive VP Arlene Holt Baker:

In an election this close, everybody's contribution counts. Without the efforts of the grassroots in Minnesota we wouldn't have Sen. Franken today.