Too Little Too Late, Employee Free Choice Can’t Wait

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Thursday February 05, 2009 · 2:36 PM PST

2009/02/05 · 14:36

Yesterday, thousands of workers from across the nation rallied on Capitol Hill to kick off the delivery of 1.5 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Union members were joined by Senator Tom Harkin, Congressman George Miller, and progressive organizations like the Sierra Club to showcase the widespread public support for this legislation that will rebuild the middle class by reinstating workers’ freedom to bargain collectively for better wages and benefits.

Workers speaking at the rally told their personal stories illustrating the need for the bill.
A legal victory we had last week comes to mind as a good example of how broken the current system of forming unions is. Since the workers impacted weren’t in DC for the rally, here’s the story:

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Friday December 19, 2008 · 2:36 PM PST

2008/12/19 · 14:36

I've been bouncing in my ergonomic desk chair over Obama's pick for Secretary of Labor. No big surprise that the sentiment was shared by other folks around this union and others.

It's not just because she sponsors the House version of a bill to revive workers' right to organize--- any progressive supports that. What's so special about Rep. Solis is how much she has been on the ground, helping working people for decades. Often with UNITE HERE.

I've seen Rep. Solis speak and I'm familiar with her successful policy workbut some of my colleagues have worked with her for decades. She has a deep and personal connection with working Americans that stems from decades working to help workers get their rights.

Here's an email that UNITE HERE Prez. Bruce Raynor just sent to President-elect Obama in support of our next Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis. It has some history you might not know:

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Monday November 03, 2008 · 8:21 PM PST

2008/11/03 · 20:21

Never in a million years did I think I’d be spending Election Day 08 in North Carolina with the state a tossup. Though UNITE HERE has deep roots in the state, North Carolina has some of the lowest union density in the country. Yet here I am in North Carolina, "embedded" in an enormous mobilization of union members who are volunteering for Barack Obama, Kay Hagan, Larry Kissell, Bev Perdue and other Democratic candidates. With the Presidential candidates running neck-and-neck here for the first time since Carter, there is nowhere else I’d rather be.

Poll

53 votes Show Results

Are you surprized at how well we're doing in NC?

53 votes Vote Now!

Are you surprized at how well we're doing in NC?

yes!

22 votes

I knew it all along

7 votes

don't count your chickens

11 votes

omg omg omg

13 votes

On the ground in Wisconsin, a union voter update

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Thursday October 23, 2008 · 3:14 PM PDT

2008/10/23 · 15:14

I was recently lucky enough to tag along with UNITE HERE’s members who are doing GOTV for Obama in Wisconsin. Nationally we have 335 members on leave from their jobs to do election work so far. I went to Wisconsin for a few reasons—to get an understanding (rather than a guessing) of why the blue collar voters the media was so convinced would support McCain were dropping him, because it’s such a great example of a populist swing state where unions like UNITE HERE have a huge impact and because McCain’s campaign there has shifted from campaigning to attempting to block the vote (h/t TC MITS).

Our Wisconsin program is seriously impressive—a big part of the reason why is the people involved. We are knocking on the doors of members of Change to Win unions—from Teamsters to our own members and telling them how Obama supports working families. On weekends our teams are volunteering with the Obama campaign too. Their dedication is incredible. Here are some stories from the road:

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Monday September 15, 2008 · 7:13 AM PDT

2008/09/15 · 07:13

Great news! The California Supreme Court has ordered anti-union employer the Cintas Corporation to pay hundreds of workers the $1.65 MILLION they were owed for their backbreaking labor in industrial laundries. By violating the city of Hayward's living wage regulations, Cintas illegally underpaid Northern California workers for years. Living wage regulations like Hayward's require the city and certain firms with large city contracts to pay wages that reflect the local cost of living including a dollar extra per hour if the employer doesn’t provide health benefits.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Monday September 01, 2008 · 7:16 AM PDT

2008/09/01 · 07:16

Bill O’Reilly talks about "The War on Christmas" and while that concept has been widely lambasted I’m here today to sound a different alarm---- that there is truly a War on Labor Day.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Thursday August 28, 2008 · 10:11 AM PDT

2008/08/28 · 10:11

Tonight, the world will watch as Obama accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination and he’ll do it in a union made suit. Today the rest of the world will learn what we here at UNITE HERE already knew-- that if you bother to buy fair trade coffee your suit should be "fair trade" too-—and by that I mean union made. You can find out where to get your own union-made clothes at http://www.unitehere.org/... . And no, American Apparel isn’t union made.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Tuesday August 26, 2008 · 11:13 AM PDT

2008/08/26 · 11:13

I just learned that tonight at the Democratic Convention a former Pillowtex worker from North Carolina and leader of the Southern Region of UNITE HERE, Gloria Craven, will address the Democratic convention to speak on the issue of workers who suffer the loss of medical coverage when the plant they work at closes.

Gloria will take the stage tonight at approximately 8:00 p.m. local time, just a few speakers before Hillary Clinton. With Gloria and Anna Burger of Change to Win speaking tonight it is clear that the Obama campaign truly understands that the way to Renew America's Promise (their theme of the day, is by supporting unions and working people.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Friday August 08, 2008 · 12:22 PM PDT

2008/08/08 · 12:22

Imagine that you work in pain everyday. Your body aches; your muscles throb; you just plain hurt. Something’s not right, and you pray everyday that it doesn’t get worse because you can’t afford to go to the doctor.

Unfortunately, this is a reality for too many workers in this country and a story we heard on the Painful Truth Tour’s Orlando stop. I’ve been blogging about UNITE HERE’s tour of injured workers from the Cintas Corporation’s industrial laundries and how it points to the need for the Employee Free Choice Act to pass next year.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Wednesday August 06, 2008 · 8:10 AM PDT

2008/08/06 · 08:10

While Cintas laundry workers’ Painful Truth Tour was pulling into the Bay Area, political appointees in the Department of Labor were hard at work on a "secret rule" to delay federal safety agency's process for assessing the risks chemicals and toxins pose to workers.

This episode reminds me of an earlier Bush administration regulation-— one the Cintas Corporation lobbied for— that allows industrial laundries to process shop towels used to sop-up industrial solvents. Cintas workers say they need stronger not weaker protection from chemical exposure on the job.

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Friday August 01, 2008 · 12:28 PM PDT

2008/08/01 · 12:28

Today’s WSJ shows just how important the Employee Free Choice Act [EFCA]is to creating a more equal America and addressing corporate power—Wal-Mart and Cintas are fighting to stop this legislation which would help protect workers who want to unionize. EFCA is a key part of making jobs safer and fixing the income inequality crisis.

I’ve written here before about Cintas, a company that has violated employees’ rights under federal labor law and supported weaker regulation of hazardous solvents.

Poll

51 votes Show Results

will Cintas and Wal-Marts tactics influence their employee's votes?

51 votes Vote Now!

will Cintas and Wal-Marts tactics influence their employee's votes?

yes

17 votes

12 votes

depends how good a job we do spreading the word on EFCA

22 votes

The Associated Press Tells "The Painful Truth"

Elana Levin of UNITE HERE

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Monday July 28, 2008 · 8:45 AM PDT

2008/07/28 · 08:45

The media IS paying attention to labor. Well at least this key AP story is being picked up. So let’s give credit where it’s due for "Cintas workers criticize company's safety record". The A.P. story is about a group of current and former Cintas laundry workers who were injured on the job and are going across the country, speaking out about their working conditions (I blogged about this Tuesday).

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Too Little Too Late, Employee Free Choice Can’t Wait

Solis' history of fighting for workers

GOTV in North Carolina: Labor takes a lead

On the ground in Wisconsin, a union voter update

Living wage win! Workers get 1.65 mil in unpaid wages

The War on Labor Day

Obama will accept nomination in suit made by union members

Breaking: UNITE HERE Activist Addresses Delegates Tonight

Healthcare Crisis Hits Injured Workers Hard

Just some of the workers Chao's "Secret" Rule could endanger

Wal-Mart & Cintas campaign against pro-worker legislation

The Associated Press Tells "The Painful Truth"