The law says you have the right to join a union. The law also says you have the right to make that decision free from intimidation, harassment and coercion by your employer. But those laws are not being enforced in America. So the labor movement has launched the Voice@Work campaign to restore the freedom to join unions.
The National Labor Relations Board, set up to protect workers' right to organize unions, is now manipulated to throw obstacles into the paths of those seeking to join together and bargain collectively. Unscrupulous employers and the multi-billion dollar union-avoidance consulting industry routinely fire, harass and intimidate workers who express interest in joining unions. And they do so with impunity.
The time has come for change.
After years of dwindling membership and trying to organize workers on this unlevel playing field, the American labor movement has launched Voice@Work, a multi-year campaign to restore the freedom of U.S. workers to join unions. The AFL-CIO, its affiliated international unions, and its state and local federations -- including the Washington State Labor Council -- have made growing unions their No. 1 priority and are committed to the success of Voice@Work.
On Nov. 13, historic legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress. This bill is intended to articulate the kind of labor law reform that will ultimately be necessary level the playing field for American workers. Every Democratic member of Washington's congressional delegation has signed on to the EFCA as co-sponsors.
But this campaign will involve much, much more than passing (or not passing in the case of this anti-union Congress) more laws to protect our rights. It will involve taking those rights back on our own.
The WSLC urges all union organizations and working people in this state to contact us when Washington employers are threatening and harassing employees who support unionization. In addition to being charged with the crimes they are committing, these employers deserve to be shamed publicly and our allies in the community need to know which employers are denying our freedoms and fundamental human rights.
Other Voice@Work materials:
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More information about the Employee Free Choice Act (MS Word documents):
-- Guaranteeing Employee Free Choice through Democratic “Card-Check” Procedures
-- Facilitating Initial Labor Agreements through Mediation and Arbitration
-- More Effective Remedies Against Employer Coercion
At
the national AFL-CIO's
Voice@Work website:
- Resources
- The Employer War Against Workers
- When Workers Have a Voice on the Job, Communities Benefit
- Employee Free Choice Act
- What the Presidential Candidates Have to Say About Your Freedom to Form a Union
- From City Hall to the White House: Lawmakers Support Workers’ Rights
- Harassed, Threatened and Fired: Workers Describe Their Struggle to Join a Union
- The Union Difference
- Here’s How Community Allies Can Help Workers Struggling to Form a Union
- Other State Voice@Work Events