The massive delegation headed to Washington represents organizations and individuals who view the Employee Free Choice Act as fundamental to the future of America’s middle class. Whether they are small business owners, veterans, farmers, students, faith leaders, civil rights activists, women’s advocates, or environmentalists, people from around the state are joining others from across the country to send a powerful message that updating our obsolete labor laws is a fundamental cause for everyone.

Once in Washington, activists will meet with congressional members and other leaders on Sept. 10 to discuss the importance of passing the Employee Free Choice Act this year, as it is a critical vehicle on the path to long-term and sustainable economic recovery. The legislation will give workers a fair path to form a union, toughen penalties against employers who violate the law, and prevent companies from delaying and stalling negotiations to deny workers a contract.

GOP Rep Don Young isn’t exactly known for his reluctance to toe the Republican line on key issues. So it’s kind of a big deal that he has openly broken with his colleagues when it comes to their leading talking point against the Employee Free Choice Act: The claim that it would eliminate the “secret ballot” option for joining unions.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that Young made the comments at a gathering of “Alaskans for Liberty” last Thursday. Apparently, after the outspoken Republican was asked about “card check legislation,” Young said this:

I believe in unions. I believe in working people. They say the secret ballot is eliminated. That’s not true. A secret ballot can be requested.

So there you have it, folks. Even Rep. Don Young says the “no secret ballot” argument is bunk.

Check out the great video and be sure to spread the word.

Speakers included Leo Chapman, former mayor of West Memphis and first
African American elected to that position, Irvin Calliste, International
Representative for the Steelworkers’ Union and President of the
Memphis AFL-CIO Labor Council, and Billy Myers, International
Representative for the United Food & Commercial Workers Union.

At the meeting, Chapman said workers would have more opportunities if it were easier to join a union. “”Look at the people where they’re behind, if
they were unionizing they would be in a better position than they are
today. We want to enjoy the same rights and privileges as anyone else.”

Calliste noted that unions are a core part of our country, saying, “Because of unions, this country thrived. It’s not a coincidence that when union membership declined, the middle class started declining with it. Unions are responsible for the great middle class in this country.”

Billy Myers urged UFCW and community members to mobilize for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field so workers can have more opportunities to get ahead. “I tell the workers it’s illegal [the company anti-union campaigns]. They can’t fire you for union activities. But in the back of my mind, I know it happens. Right now there’s no level playing field, the company has all the power. We must change that.”

Passing Employee Free Choice is crucial to growing the middle class and building an economy that works for everyone.  It will allow workers to have a voice at work and to bargain collectively for higher wages, benefits, and job security.  The bill seeks to level the playing field between workers and their employers because it would give workers–not their employers–the power to choose to join a union either through majority sign-up or through an election.

“I made the trip into Washington DC to stand with my fellow Walmart workers and to urge my Senators to pass the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Dominique Sloan a Dallas, Texas, Walmart worker. “We need change in this country. All you have to do is look at how all the money goes to CEOs. But when it comes to workers, it’s always the same, no health care or health care that’s too expensive and low wages. We need to change that.”

The National Organizing Committee is made up of Walmart workers from Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Despite Walmart’s well-documented history of anti-working family activities, workers say they are excited by the election of Barack Obama, excited that the President says it’s not too much to ask Walmart to pay decent wages and provide good health care, and excited that the Employee Free Choice Act can help bring the change that helps workers and makes Walmart live up to its responsibilities.

“I have three boys, and I had to get Florida Kids Care to cover their medical,” says Cheryl Guzman, a Walmart worker from Miami. “It’s either you eat, or you have medical coverage, that’s not right. That’s why I’m part of Walmart Workers for Change.”

Ten workers recently shared their stories in a new video, released earlier this week. Workers from the National Organizing Committee will be available to the press today after a Capitol Hill briefing at 10 a.m., in 328 Russell Senate Office Building.

Walmart Workers for Change is a new campaign made up of thousands of Walmart workers joining together to form a union and negotiate better benefits, higher wages, and more opportunity for a better future. The campaign is a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).  The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers nationwide, with nearly one million working in the supermarket industry. Many of UFCW members also work at national retail stores such as Bloomingdales, Macys, H&M, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, RiteAid, CVS, and Syms.

They’re intimidated, and they are afraid. My family and other families have paid the price for freedom. And when you tell me I can’t talk about a union, you’re taking my freedom from me.

Workers in more than 100 stores in 15 states across the country have joined together and signed union representation cards, citing a lack of respect from the company, as well as poverty-level wages and sub-par benefits as reasons they need a union voice on the job. Even though Walmart’s got a long and well-documented history of anti-worker activities, workers say they Obama’s election has inspired them to take action, as has the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress. The campaign comes at a time when workers find their wages have stagnated, even as Walmart and the Walton family continue to make record profits. Walmart’s recently released 2009 10K shows the company made $13.4 billion in profits last year. In the new video, which can be viewed at http://www.walmartworkersforchange.org/index.php/pages/articles/walmarts_war_on_workers, 10 workers from coast to coast detail the company’s response to their organizing efforts, including:

Dominique Sloane and Mark Moore, of Dallas, Texas, were told that their store would be closed if workers voted to organize. In Miami, Florida, Cheryl Guzman was interrogated by a manager about who among her colleagues supported a union. Linda Haluska, of Glendale, Illinois, was called into four mandatory meetings in one week, where she and her colleagues were shown anti-union, anti-Employee Free Choice videos.

Walmart Workers for Change is a new campaign made up of thousands of Walmart workers joining together to form a union and negotiate better benefits, higher wages, and more opportunity for a better future.

“The associates are afraid,” said Cynthia Murray, a Walmart associate in Laurel, Maryland.  “They’re intimidated, and they are afraid.  My family and other families have paid the price for freedom.  And when you tell me I can’t talk about a union, you’re taking my freedom from me.”

Workers in more than 100 stores in 15 states across the country have joined together and signed union representation cards, citing a lack of respect from the company, as well as poverty-level wages and sub-par benefits as reasons they need a union voice on the job.

Despite Walmart’s long and well-documented history of anti-worker activities, associates say they are emboldened by the election of Barack Obama and the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress.

The campaign comes at a time when workers find their wages have stagnated, even as Walmart and the Walton family continue to make record profits.  Walmart’s recently released 2009 10K shows the company made $13.4 billion in profits last year.

“Walmart’s slogan is ‘Save Money, Live Better,’” said Vikki Gill, a former Walmart manager in St. Louis, Missouri.  “Walmart is saving money and living better at the associates’ expense.”

In the new video, which can be viewed at http://www.walmartworkersforchange.org/index.php/pages/articles/walmarts_war_on_workers, 10 workers from coast to coast detail the company’s response to their organizing efforts.  Dominique Sloane and Mark Moore, of Dallas, Texas, were told that their store would be closed if workers voted to organize.  In Miami, Florida, Cheryl Guzman was interrogated by a manager about who among her colleagues supported a union. Linda Haluska, of Glendale, Illinois, was called into four mandatory meetings in one week, where she and her colleagues were shown anti-union, anti-Employee Free Choice videos.

“Since we’ve started talking union, the company has been holding meetings, they’ve flown people in,” said Sloan.  “They’ve even mentioned as far as with the union, there’s a possibility that stores may close.”

Walmart Workers for Change is a new campaign made up of thousands of Walmart workers joining together to form a union and negotiate better benefits, higher wages, and more opportunity for a better future.

The campaign is a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), America’s neighborhood union.  The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers nationwide, with nearly one million working in the supermarket industry. Many of UFCW members also work at national retail stores such as Bloomingdales, Macys, H&M, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, RiteAid, CVS, and Syms.

Celia Cisneros never imagined that she would need to harvest grapes for 12 hours a day during a hot California summer, just to make ends meet. But she had no other option — she was fired from her job at a poultry plant in Potterville, Calif.
The reason: she says it’s because she is a union supporter.
Cisneros, 53, a resident of Lindsey, Calif., has worked for almost eight years at this Potterville poultry plant. During all this time, she was known as a model worker. She just wanted decent wages, benefits and respect at work for her and her coworkers.
“When I heard that the UFCW was organizing the plant I was very excited. I knew that this was our chance to improve our standards of living,” Cisneros said. “I began talking to my coworkers about the union. They were supporting the union. I was sure that we were going to win the election.”
Instead, the union lost the election, thanks to the behavior of the company.
“The supervisors began intimidating workers,” said Cisneros. “People became afraid. They didn’t want to lose their jobs and when they arrived to the ballot box the company left them with no other option.”
Celia Cisneros was fired four months later. She found herself desperate with bills to pay, a husband with a chronic disease, and four children to take care of.

The union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). After investigating her case, the NLRB ordered the company to rehire Cisneros.

Cisneros knows that she is not alone, and that many other workers across America have to struggle to join a union. Last month she joined other workers fromdifferent states and traveled to Washington D.C., to show her support for the Employee Free Choice Act by talking directly to her elected officials.

UFCW members and workers visited their members of Congress to share their stories of trying to organize their workplace.
“I came to the nation’s capital to let our elected politicians know that we, the workers, want to see the Employee Free Choice Act become a law,” Cisneros said.
The Employee Free Choice Act is a bill that will help strengthen the economy by making it easier for workers in America to join a union and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. The Employee Free Choice Act is the best way to expand the nation’s middle class and stimulate the economy.
UFCW stewards around the nation have been supporting the Employee Free Choice Act by urging their coworkers to sign pledge cards and to contact their elected officials.
Their effort has not been in vain. Earlier this year, hundreds of workers met in front of the Capitol to deliver these pledge cards.
And thanks to the effort of hundreds of members who volunteered to support the presidential campaign of President Obama, now the nation has a leader who is on the side of workers.

President Obama has said that“unions are part of the solution.”
But we cannot take anything for granted. It is more critical than ever to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
“We came to the nation’s capital because all of our senators need to know that we are counting on their vote in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Armando Martinez, a steward from Local 22 in Freemont, N.E.
All stewards should urge their coworkers to contact their U.S. senators and let them know that they are counting on their support.
“Call their office, write a letter, send an e-mail, if you want to visit them personally even better. It is important that senators know that all workers are behind
the Employee Free Choice Act,” Martinez said.
Stewards can find sample letters and find out how to contact their elected officials at www.ufcwforfreechoice.org.
Celia Cisneros’ dream is to have a union at her plant, so she never again has to fear losing her job and being intimidated by her supervisors.
“We are all in this together,” said Cisneros. “The Employee Free Choice Act will give us the freedom to choose a better life by joining a union.”

The action comes on the heels of the introduction earlier this month of the legislation in both the Senate and the House.

“I believe that if Congress really cares about fixing the economy and rebuilding the middle class, it should pass the Employee Free Choice Act,” said James Satler, a former Fresh & Easy grocery worker from California. “The economy should work for everyone, not just CEOs.” Satler was fired for attempting to organize a union at his workplace.

Despite having majority support at work, Darlene Bruzio and her co-workers at Giant Eagle in Pennsylvania lost their union election because of employer interference. “When you have more than 80% support for joining a union, like we did at my store, and still lose an election, you know that the system is broken,” Bruzio said. “Members of Congress should stop the corporations that are gaming the system by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.”

While most workers’ stories heard in Congress today highlight the intimidation and harassment workers face when trying to form a union, Armando Martinez, a Hormel Foods worker from Nebraska, shared a positive experience of getting a voice on the job without intimidation. “I know that having a union makes the difference because I have worked in places where employees are threatened when they try to get a voice on the job,” Martinez said. “When I started working at the Hormel Foods plant in Freemont, the UFCW already represented the workers. All I needed to do was sign up to show I wanted to join the union—all without any intimidation or harassment from the company.”

Sixty million workers say they would join a union if they could. With Employee Free Choice, workers, not employers, will decide how to form a union. Workers will have the option of majority sign up in addition to a secret ballot election. The Free Choice legislation will establish meaningful penalties for employers who break the law and harass or fire workers for wanting a union. Finally, Employee Free Choice will ensure that workers gain a first contract through a provision that calls for binding arbitration if workers and management cannot reach an agreement within 120 days.

Photos of today’s event are available. Media inquiries should be directed to press@ufcw.org.

The introduction of the Free Choice legislation today gives Congress the opportunity to show American workers that they are willing to stand up for real change for working families and shape a brighter future for our children and our grandchildren.

1.3 million UFCW members and their families are counting on their Senators and Congresspersons to show leadership and support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Without the Employee Free Choice Act, workers will continue to fight a one-sided, losing battle to exercise their legal rights at work.  The recent stimulus package was a necessary first step in the right direction.  But if our country is to have a sound and sustainable economy, we must fully renew the opportunity for workers to achieve the American Dream.  Union membership is the engine of a middle-class economy.

UFCW members and working families across the nation are standing firmly in support of this legislation.  We will not let corporate America drown out reasonable debate on this issue with lies and exaggerations about the process by which workers can choose a union.

We will not let Congress forget why corporate America is spending millions of dollars on ads and lobbyists.   Companies like Wal-Mart are profiting from our economic downturn while thousands of Wal-Mart workers try to stay afloat with part-time incomes, unaffordable health care and questionable job security.   Severe income inequality is destroying the American Dream and today we stand united to say it’s time to level the playing field for American workers.

UFCW members will continue to make our voices heard so that every worker can freely choose to join a union to improve their lives, without intimidation, harassment or fear.

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) addresses crowd rallying for Employee Free Choice from UFCW on Vimeo.

[Blooper alert: Someone knocks the camera out of my hands midway through the clip. were all very excited.]

You can also check out photos from the event below:

Sorrentino and other PriceRite employees have been working to organize with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), but have faced a campaign of company harassment and intimidation. Shortly after receiving national attention for speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act at a Washington, DC, press conference on January 13, Sorrentino was demoted and given a pay cut—the kind of harassment by corporations against workers that the Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate.

UFCW Local 328, in Providence has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking reinstatement of Sorrentino’s position and pay, as a Night Crew Chief.

“This is the way companies destroy worker attempts to gain a voice on the job,” said Dave Fleming, UFCW local 328 President. “They wage fear campaigns. They fire. They spy. They intimidate. They send a clear and frightening message that if you support forming a union, you will be punished.”

A study from Cornell University scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner found that:

• In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union.
• Half of employers threaten to shut down partially or totally if employees join together in a union.
• Ninety-two percent of private-sector employers, when faced with employees who want to join together in a union, force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda; 80 percent require supervisors to attend training sessions on attacking unions; and 78 percent require that supervisors deliver anti-union messages to workers they oversee.
• Seventy-five percent hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, often based on mass psychology and distorting the law.

Joe Sorrentino, like countless other workers trying to improve their workplace, exercised his right speak out for a union on the job,” said Fleming. “The next thing he knew, he was demoted with a wage cut of $3 an hour.”

Immigrant activists revitalized the American labor movement in the final decades
of the 20th century. Solis, 51, has strong ties to that movement.

Today, a PriceRite worker involved in the UFCW’s PriceRite campaign spoke out about the need for Employee Free Choice at a press briefing held at the National Press Club. Representatives from the UFCW, as well as the nation’s top workers’ rights groups, labor experts, and progressive leaders laid out the case for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

“The company has made people afraid that they’ll lose their jobs when the union comes in,” said PriceRite worker Joe Sorrentino. He spoke about how the company has intimidated workers who support the union, by telling them that their store will close if they vote for a union, spying on them, sending out letters and even calling the police to arrest organizers who are legally handing out literature to the public.

Workers at PriceRite do not have a union, but many workers at another company owned/and or operated by the same parent company, Wakefern, are represented by the UFCW.

“We just want to the same fair chance to choose a union and have the same union benefits that workers at most ShopRite stores have,” said Sorrentino. “Instead, the company won’t even give us the chance to talk about the union. The Employee Free Choice Act would make it so the company couldn’t interfere with us or try to intimidate employees into voting against their own interests like they do now.”

Sorrentino emphasized the need for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. “To not pass Employee Free Choice,” he said, “would lead to another generation of low-paying jobs and uninsured Americans. The middle class would be a thing of the past.”

The event was organized by American Rights at Work, representing a broad coalition of labor and workers’ rights advocates, which also previewed new television ads as part of a nationwide ad campaign in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

A few examples of who opposes EFCA

- Wal-Mart: Held meetings to try to convince their managers not to vote for Democrats, because they would pass EFCA and empower Wal-Mart workers to finally be able to form a union.

- George Bush & Dick Cheney: Never a friend of working people, Bush promised to veto EFCA if it crossed his desk.

-The Employee Freedom Action Committee: Many of the commercials on TV against EFCA are funded by this group, which was created by a lobbyist specifically to oppose EFCA. The Lobbyist, Richard Berman even admitted “All of my clients are corporations,” so we’re pretty sure he doesn’t have workers’ best interests at heart. Berman runs other organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom which criticizes Mothers against Drunk Driving, and the Employment Policies Institute which opposes raising the minimum wage.

- US Chamber of Commerce: The voice of business owners in America.

“I came to this country to follow the American dream. I thought that in the most powerful country in the world, workers were free to express themselves. I thought the laws protected workers who wanted to form a union. I was wrong. Instead, I found that when employers break every law, abuse workers and silence our voices, no one does anything to stop them.

“My co-workers and I wanted a union at work to fight back against the dangerous working conditions, the lack of respect, and abusive treatment. We all signed cards showing our support for the UFCW.

“The law wasn’t enough to stop Nebraska Beef from campaigning against us. The company terrified workers from standing up for their rights. They threatened to fire union supporters, threatened to call immigration and deport the Latinos and threatened to close the plant. They promised to slow the line down and treat everyone better. Nebraska Beef even brought in a bunch of strange workers on the day of the election just to get them to vote against the union.

“Workers were scared. No one wanted to lose their job. The company won the vote by a small number. The line was sped back up and no one was given what was promised to them.

“We need this law to protect workers’ rights. We need this law to help workers who want to organize.”

But first, check it out and see if you can catch the faulty reasoning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afjp4Cx-3W0

These commercials lead most people to think that unions want to replace the secret ballot election with a not secret ballot election. However, unions and workers agree that “democracy is something that should never be sacrificed.”

Bear with me.

Currently, the standard way to form a union involves two major steps.

1. Majority card sign-up: Before any election takes place, a majority of workers must sign cards saying that they want an election.
2. Elections: Workers vote (yes, with a secret ballot) on whether they want a union.

Sounds fair, right? The problem though, is that during the time between Steps 1 and 2, the employers wage their anti-union war. They might force workers to watch movies that lie about the union, tell people how to vote in the election, or even fire pro-union workers. This time period can last for months or even years, so you can imagine that when the election rolls around, many of the people who signed the cards in the first place might have changed their minds. And really, if the money you need to survive is being given to you by a person (your boss) who’s telling you how to vote, is this actually democracy?

So the solution proposed by Employee Free Choice Act is to allow workers to vote for the union using the same process that is already used in Step #1. If workers want a union, they sign a card. If they don’t want a union, they don’t sign a card. Democracy is still in place here, because a majority of workers need to sign cards for the union to win. This process is the same as the one we have always used; it just gets rid of the opportunity for employers to intimidate their workers.

But if this is the same process that is already in place, why are the anti-union people presenting it as something new and scary? Because without the employer intimidation process it would easier for workers to join unions, and harder for employers to hold on to all the power! Remember, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott admitted, “We like driving the car and we’re not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us.”

But electing Barack Obama is just the first step to strengthen the middle class, said Dan Nichols, a steward from Local 304A.
“As stewards we have to encourage workers to keep fighting for policies that would raise their standards of living,” said Nichols. “Working families need to unite and contact legislators in Congress and push for the issues that matter most to workers.”

Nichols said that workers should stand together behind the Employee Free Choice Act, to make sure the next Congress approves this important legislation that would restore the American Dream.
“This bill, if it’s approved by Congress, will help a lot of working families and will be great for the middle class,” Nichols said. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who would like to join a union, but are afraid of their supervisors.”

The Employee Free Choice Act will put more workers on the union side of the bargaining table, which will ultimately expand and strengthen the middle
class by protecting jobs, raising wages, and improving benefits.
As a steward, Nichols has actively encouraged his coworkers to sign a pledge card in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Thanks to hard work and efforts of stewards like Nichols, more than 250,000 UFCW members have signed the petition urging elected leaders to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. There is still more to be done to get this important piece of legislation passed.
All stewards can mobilize members around the Employee Free Choice Act by telling them to call, write or e-mail their elected representatives and urging them to strengthen the middle class by passing this bill.

Manuel Salazar believes that workers should hold Congressional leaders accountable to reform health care and to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
“All workers have to continue fighting for what is best for their families. Workers all around the nation need to mobilize to get the Employee Free Choice Act passed and to reform health care,” Salazar said.

So Barack Obama’s going to be our next president. Now we can all heave a big sigh of relief, sit back, and watch while he changes everything for the better. Right?

Not so fast.

Fox News reports that “The nation’s leading business group on Thursday urged President-elect Barack Obama to devote the early days of his presidency to reviving the economy, leaving more controversial issues such as labor rights for later.”

Problem: Who makes this economy work? Workers! You can’t improve the state of the economy without improving the condition of workers!

These days, just about every week another example of economic hardship hits the press. Housing crisis, credit crunch, failing banks, and now the auto bailout! What do all of these problems have in common? They all affect workers like us, but they’re such massive problems that it seems like there’s nothing we can do about it but hope that Congress can figure out a decent solution.

But there is one thing that we as workers can do – form unions. The prosperity of America is strongly based on the prosperity of America’s middle class. America’s middle class is hurting right now, because corporate America has gotten a little carried away taking advantage of the rest of us, and the results of this behavior are finally sinking in. In order to keep corporate giants in check, we must protect our most effective tool against them, the right to organize. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would solve the problems that workers now face when they are trying to form a union on the job. Obama’s support of workers’ rights was a key reason his campaign was successful. We need to continue to show our support for workers’ choice to help it push past opposition in Congress. Over the next few weeks we’ll be blogging more in depth about the Employee Free Choice Act to let you know what it’s all about.

The UFCW is working together with hundreds of unions and progressive groups, with one goal in mind: to restore the American Dream for every American worker.

The surest way to accomplish that mission is to bring back the force that created the American middle class — good union jobs that protect workers.

That’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act — critical legislation that would give more workers a way to form unions, and would form a path back to the American Dream by allowing more workers to negotiate for better wages, health care, and working conditions.

Click the following link to sign the petition to give more workers the freedom to choose a union: www.ufcwforfreechoice.org

We’re teaming up with hundreds of unions and progressive groups to launch a massive campaign: One Million Strong for the Employee Free Choice Act.

In 2009, we will have a new President and a new Congress. Our goal is to show them that there are one million people across the country who want to give hardworking families a chance to get ahead.

Why is the Employee Free Choice Act so important? Record numbers of workers feel that the American Dream has slipped out of reach.

Today’s workplaces are tilted in favor of lavishly-paid CEOs, who get golden parachutes while middle-class families struggle to get by. The Employee Free Choice Act can restore the balance, giving more workers a chance to join together in unions and get better health care, job security, and benefits — and an opportunity to pursue their American Dream.

Big Business knows what the Employee Free Choice Act would mean. That’s why they are fighting against it with everything they’ve got. They’re pulling out all the stops to protect the status quo — a rigged system which allows employers to intimidate, harass, and even fire workers who try to form a union. We’re not talking about isolated incidents: 30 percent of employers fire pro-union workers during union organizing drives.

It’s time our economy worked for everyone again. It’s time for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act–and give workers the freedom to choose a union.

Sign your name to the petition and add your voice to this growing movement. Help us meet our goal of one million signatures!

Sign the petition: www.ufcwforfreechoice.org

Together, we can win a chance for every American worker to reach their own American Dream.

Over the last 70 years, unions have led the fight for the minimum wage and the eight-hour work day; championed employer-paid health care and pension plans for workers; played a leading role securing Social Security and Medicare for seniors; and won major advances ensuring workplace safety and workers’ rights.

Unions are just as important today in securing livable wages and benefits. Wages of union members are almost 30 percent higher than those of nonunion workers. And when you include the much better health care and pension benefits union workers receive, the total compensation of union workers is 44% higher than that of non-union workers.

So it’s no wonder that nearly 60 million workers in America say that would join a union if they could. When given the option, workers want a stable job where they can earn enough to support a family, buy a home, send their children to college, and save for retirement.

The more workers unite together in unions, the better off everyone is. During contract negotiations, you know that having more union workers in your industry means more power at the bargaining table with your employer. Building this worker power in unions is the best way to raise the standard for wages and benefits for all workers.

But when unions are under attack, as they are today, workers face stagnant wages and declining health and retirement benefits.

Good jobs are vanishing, and health care coverage and retirement security are slipping out of reach. The American dream is slipping away from our children’s reach. For the first time in history, Americans believe their children will be worse off financially than they are.

To restore the American Dream, we need to turn the low-paying, no-benefit jobs of today into the union wage, middle-class jobs of tomorrow. Right now, the power employers have over workers is completely out of hand, and the NLRB doesn’t exercise real strength to protect workers or to level the playing field. Workers deserve the chance to make choices on the job that will help them reach their dreams and give their children a better life.

That’s why Congress needs to create a system that respects workers and revives this country’s strong middle class. It needs a system that restores the balance between workers and employers—a system built on fairness, openness and the freedom for workers to make their own choices.

Employee Free Choice would do just that. It would protect the ability of workers to come together and form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits and safer working conditions. Employee Free Choice would protect working families by bolstering financial equality and maintaining a strong middle class. We must support Employee Free Choice because all workers deserve the best chance to reach the American Dream.

Jose Guardado is one of them. Speaking out in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, Mr, Guardado recounted his experience attempting to organize a union at Nebraska Beef meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska.

“”I came to this country to follow the American dream. I thought that in the most powerful country in the world, workers were free to express themselves,”" said Jose Guardado, a meatpacking worker and union activist. “”I thought the laws protected workers who wanted to form a union. I was wrong. Instead, I found that when employers break every law, abuse workers and silence our voices, no one does anything to stop them.”"

Guardado was a leader in an organizing drive at the Nebraska Beef meatpacking plant where more than 900 workers signed cards to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). As the workers’ campaign gained strength, the company began a vicious anti-union campaign. The company harassed union supporters, threatened to close the plant, threatened to call immigration and terrified union supporters who stood up for a voice on the job. The company’s illegal anti-union campaign narrowly defeated the worker organizing effort but resulted in numerous NLRB charges. Jose, like several other workers, felt like a marked man in the plant due to his leadership role in the organizing drive. The company eventually fired him.

Today, Mr. Guardado is a member of UFCW Local 271 and works at XL Four Star Beef in Omaha. He continues his fight for justice and a voice on the job for workers at Nebraska Beef.

“”Workers at Nebraska Beef still suffer the abuse and indignity that existed before the union campaign. Workers are still being threatened and fired. And, there is no way to ever have a fair election there. We need this law to protect workers’ rights. We need this law to ensure that workers everywhere have a chance to make the American dream a reality for their families,”" said Guardado.