Defying 97-degree heat, heavy humidity and a planned Republican filibuster, several thousand workers and their allies rallied in Washington Tuesday to demand the Senate pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
By Mark Gruenberg
At an outdoor gathering near the Capitol -- one of 100 such events nationwide -- unionists and lawmakers pledged to support the proposal, which would help level the playing field between workers and bosses in organizing and bargaining. Several speakers said it would free up to 60 million people to unionize. But whether lawmakers, and especially the GOP, will listen, is unlikely. Republicans, with the backing of much of Corporate America, have enough votes to stop the bill (HR 800/S 1041) by talking it to death.
The bill needs 60 votes to end the filibuster in the 100-member Senate and backers now count 52. A vote to halt debate could occur Thursday, Friday or Monday, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told the crowd. And behind the GOP filibuster looms President Bush with his veto pen. But that didn't stop union leaders, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Communications Workers President Larry Cohen, Teamsters President Jim Hoffa, UFCW President Joe Hansen and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, from urging the crowd to lobby lawmakers for the bill. The lobbying focuses on nine persuadable GOP senators – including Minnesota's Norm Coleman -- and four wavering Democrats.
"Call your two senators, not only this week, and tell them: ' We're watching, we're watching, we're watching," Cohen declared. "The whole world is watching, the whole labor movement is watching, and we will be there. "The Employee Free Choice Act would rein in the employer harassment, intimidation and anti-worker tactics tens of thousands of workers encounter every year when they try to form unions.
Currently, employers decide if workers can choose a union by majority sign-up or by the longer National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process, which many employers exploit to threaten and intimidate workers who support the union. The proposal also would strengthen the penalties on employers who violate the law and allow for mandatory arbitration of first contracts.
Many speakers, including workers fired for organizing unions and the lawmakers, linked the lack of workers' rights -- which the Employee Free Choice Act would help solve--with the middle-class squeeze. "Workers want decent wages, health care covering everyone, safe and secure pensions and a decent retirement, and the way to get that is the Employee Free Choice Act," declared Sen. Edward Kennedy, the bill's chief sponsor.
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