Cohen Hails Introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act
03/16/09
Millions of working families are a
step closer to having real bargaining rights with the March 10
introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act into the U.S.
Senate and House of Representatives. CWA President Larry Cohen
thanked Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller for
continuing to champion the cause of working people and for their
leadership on this important legislation. He called on the
House and Senate to pass the bill quickly, stressing that only
through Employee Free Choice “will we rebuild our economy,
increase workers’ purchasing power and put the brakes on the
extreme income inequality our nation has seen over the past
decade.”
At the press conference marking the introduction of the legislation, Senator Harkin noted:
Just as the National Labor Relations Act, the 40 hour week and the minimum wage helped to pull us out of the Great Depression and into a period of unprecedented prosperity, so too will the Employee Free Choice Act help reinvigorate our economy.
Representative Miller agreed that the bill is critical to overcoming the current economic crisis:
If we want a fair and sustainable recovery from this economic crisis, we must give workers the ability to stand up for themselves and once again share in the prosperity they help to create.