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Thursday 29th July 2010 10:14 AM |
Commentary: Good for workers, good for America
By John Remington 26 February 2007
| MINNEAPOLIS - What would you say if given the opportunity to boost your income by 30 percent, get better health insurance and a retirement plan? You'd probably say "sign me up!" |
That's what millions of Americans would like to do – sign up to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions through bargaining together. The Employee Free Choice Act, just reintroduced in Congress, would make it easier for workers to do just that.
The legislation, jointly authored by Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate, would allow workers to join a union through a simple process. If a majority of workers sign up to be represented by a union, the employer would be required to recognize that decision. Workers would then be able to negotiate a contract, allowing them to improve their wages and benefits, make their workplace safer and gain access to an employment disputes resolution process.
The National Labor Relations Act, passed in 1935, gives private sector workers the right to form unions. Under this law, it is illegal for an employer to intimidate, threaten or in any way try to influence workers in making the decision to join a union.
However, in the years since, the protections provided by the NLRA have been effectively weakened as employers routinely violate the law and ignore the inadequate penalties. A multi-million-dollar industry of "union avoidance consultants" aids companies in skirting the law and delaying the union election process, while an understaffed National Labor Relations Board struggles to keep up.
A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, released last month, shows one of every five workers who try to form a union can expect to be illegally fired.
The need for the benefits of collective bargaining has never been greater than it is today. Everyone from Catholic bishops to conservative TV commentators is decrying the disappearance of the middle class. Real wages have declined for many workers and more and more Americans lack health insurance and retirement security.
Unions – "the folks who brought you the weekend" – have made significant contributions to the creation of an American middle class. They've improved workers' lives, not through government programs or taxpayer subsidies, but by empowering workers to stand up for themselves and demand a fair share for their hard work.
A clear example is the recent contract settlement for 4,200 Twin Cities janitors that for the first time provided many with affordable family health insurance.
The Employee Free Choice Act won't change American workplaces overnight, but it will do what the title implies – give workers the ability to choose, without employer or outside interference.
John Remington is professor of industrial relations in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
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