4-26-05, 9:45 am

Workers, union activists, and community leaders launched a campaign late last week to pass federal legislation guaranteeing the right of working people to form unions at their workplaces and protecting them from harassment and intimidation by anti-union employers. Even worse, in some states, right-wing governments have passed so-called right to work laws over the past few decades that make unions even harder to organize. Claiming to protect workers’ rights, these laws allow companies to increase their anti-union campaigns and to use fear and intimidation with impunity to block unionization efforts.

Workers in the states that have passed these laws earn an average of 15 percent less in wages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, states that have passed anti-union laws are mainly in the South and the Plains states where poverty rates are higher than in states that do not have 'right to work' laws. It is no wonder that pro-union people call these laws 'right to work for less' laws.

Union workers, because of legally binding contracts made through the collective bargaining process, simply do much better in terms of wages and benefits and respect in the workplace than non-union workers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union workers earn about 22% more than non-union workers. Union contracts usually help eliminate gendered and racially motivated income gaps and hiring and promotion discrimination.

Union workers have a powerful ally in the fight against racial discrimination. Not only do racial minorities earn more when they are members of unions, but they have recourse against racist treatment in the workplace.

Just last week, for example, the international office of the United Steelworkers (USW) filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Imerys Carbonates, a multinational corporation with a plant in Sylacauga, Alabama. The complaint alleges 'that African American employees have been subjected to a hostile work environment because of racial epithets and threats made by white supervisors.'

Without union representation these workers and thousands of others like them would face abuse and hate alone and without the ability to defend their rights.

As for benefits, 9 out of 10 union workers have medical care coverage, while one in three non-union workers has no coverage at all. Five of six union members have a pension plan, while only just over half of non-union workers have one. In fact, only one in six non-union workers have a defined-benefit plan that is federally insured and guarantees a monthly income during retirement. Seventy percent of union workers have defined-benefit plans.

Studies also show that union workers are more productive and that union contracts help eliminate poverty. Further, union members have a stronger political voice and are more often engaged in civic and political activities that improve their communities and strengthen our democracy.

So if unions are so great, but employers refuse to recognize them and threaten workers into not joining them, how do we change the situation to protect workers’ rights?

One solution is to pass federal legislation that would forbid employers’ threats and enforce an equal relationship between workers and their employers in the process of organizing unions. The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1696 and S. 842) is such a law. It was introduced in Congress last week by Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

This bill would reform the nation’s basic labor laws by requiring employers to recognize the union after a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. It also would provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes and establish stronger penalties for violation of the rights of workers seeking to form unions or negotiate first contracts.

The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced last year and gained 210 co-sponsors in the House and more than 30 in the Senate, but the Republican leadership refused to allow it to go to the floor for a vote.

To learn more about the Employee free Choice act and to find out how to express your support for the bill click here.



--Joel Wendland can be reached at jwendland@politicalaffairs.net.