3-17-09, 12:20 pm

Sierra Club Stands Strong with Labor Allies at Rally for Employee Free Choice Act Feb.4, 2009

Washington, D.C.—The Sierra Club today reaffirmed is strong commitment to working for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Sierra Club President Allison Chin spoke at a rally outside the U.S. Capitol featuring Senator Tom Harkin, Representatives George Miller and Pete Visclosky, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen, more than a dozen other national labor leaders, and workers who had been fired for attempting to form a union in their workplace. Hundreds of Sierra Club activists from around the country also joined union members in a day of advocacy on Capitol Hill.

Statement of Allison Chin, Sierra Club President

'Our members overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act and we are proud to stand strong with our brothers and sisters in organized labor. Passing the Employee Free Choice Act is one of our highest priorities and we pledge to work tirelessly until it is on President Obama’s desk.

'We support this vital piece of legislation because it’s right for workers, right for America, and because it is simply the right thing to do. But we also know that companies that treat their workers right are much more likely to treat our environment right.

'As we build the clean energy economy and create the millions of new green jobs that will put our economy back to work, we need to make sure those green jobs are also good jobs. Protecting workers’ most basic rights, including the right to choose how and when to form a union, is an essential part of building a clean energy economy that lifts up all workers.'